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Taylor Swift delivered a heartfelt speech in honor of Pride Month during her Eras Tour concert in Chicago on Friday (June 2).
Sitting in front of her piano at Soldier Field, the 33-year-old pop superstar gave a special shout-out to the “brilliant crowds of people who are living their authentic lives” and assured fans that her shows are a “space space” for the LGBTQ community.
“I’m looking out tonight, I’m seeing so many incredible individuals who are living authentically and beautifully and this is a safe space for you,” Swift said in the fan-captured video. “This is a celebratory space for you.”
She continued, “One of the things that makes me feel so prideful is getting to be with you, and watching you interact with each other, and being so loving, and so thoughtful, and so caring.”
The Grammy-winning artist also referenced her 2019 Lover track “You Need to Calm Down,” which features lyrics like “can you just not step on his gown?” and “cause shade never made anybody less gay.” The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2019.
“You guys are screaming those lyrics in such solidarity, in such support of one another, in such encouraging, beautiful, acceptance and peace and safety,” she said. “I wish that every place was safe and beautiful for people in the LGBTQ community.”
The Midnights singer then segued into recent legislation in the United States that targets members of the LGBTQ community.
“There have been so many harmful pieces of legislation that have put people in the LGBTQ and queer community at risk,” she said. “It’s painful for everyone, every ally, every loved one, every person of these communities, and that’s why I’m always posting, ‘This is when the midterms are, this is when these important key primaries are.’”
Swift added, “We can support as much as we want during Pride Month, but if we’re not doing our research on these elected officials — are they advocates? Are they allies? Are they protectors of equality? Do I want to vote for them?”
Swift was mostly silent on the subject of politics for her entire career up until late late 2018, when she endorsed Phil Bredesen, the Democratic candidate for Senate in her home state of Tennessee. Since then, she’s been outspoken about all that’s going on in the world. Click here for a full timeline of Swift’s political evolution.
Watch Swift’s heartfelt Pride Month speech in Chicago on Twitter below.
2023 is looking a lot less Sour for Olivia Rodrigo. The 20-year-old Grammy winner surprised fans on Friday (June 2) by sending out an email featuring a countdown clock to June 30, which can also be seen on the homepage of her website. While the “Happier” singer didn’t reveal exactly what will be arriving when […]
Cynthia Weil, the prolific lyricist who wrote dozens of indelible pop hits with husband Barry Mann over a six-decade career has died at 82. According to the Associated Press, Weil’s death of undisclosed causes was confirmed on Friday (June 2) by Interdependence Public Relations, which represents Mann’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann.
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Weil and Mann were one of the most formidable songwriting teams to set up residence in Manhattan’s famed Brill Building in the 1960s, which was also home to fellow pop songwriting powerhouses including Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Weil’s tear-stained ballads about young love, undying devotion and social struggles include such classics as the Crystals’ “Uptown,” the Drifters’ “On Broadway,” The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and the Animals’ anti-war anthem “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”
Longtime friend King paid homage to Weil in a statement that featured an image of her with Mann, Weil and her then-husband Goffin at a BMI dinner in 1962, writing, “We lost the beautiful, brilliant lyricist Cynthia Weil Mann… The four of us were close, caring friends despite our fierce competition to write the next hit for an artist with a #1 song. Sometimes we wrote in different combinations, e.g., Mann and Goffin ‘Who Put The Bomp?’ and King and Weil ‘One To One.’ Cynthia’s high professional standard made us all better songwriters. My favorite Cynthia lyric is, “Just a little lovin’ early in the mornin’ beats a cup of coffee for startin’ out the day.” If we’re lucky, we know this is true, but she wrote it — and then she rhymed “mornin’” with “yawnin’” in the next verse. May the legacy of lyrics by Cynthia Weil continue to speak to and for generations to come. Rest in peace with love and gratitude.”
Weil was born on Oct. 18, 1940 in New York City and studied ballet and piano as a child, but after graduating from Sarah Lawrence University with a theater major she scored a job working for composer Frank Loesser at 20 and soon met Mann, whom she married in 1961. After scoring their first hit that year with Tony Orlando’s “Bless You,” the pair became regular collaborators with “Wall of Sound” producer Phil Spector, with whom they worked on the Ronettes’ “Walking in the Rain” and the Crystals’ “He’s Sure the Boy I Love.”
They landed their most enduring chart-topper in 1965 with the blue-eyed soul smash “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” a No. 1 hit produced by Spector that has been covered dozens of times and became the most-played song on radio and TV in the 20th century according to BMI.
The width and breadth of their songwriting ranged from lounge singers Eydie Gorme (“Blame it on the Bossa Nova”) and her duet partner Steve Lawrence (“Don’t Be Afraid, Little Darlin’”), to pop group Jay and the Americans (“Only in America,” a collaboration with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller), rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders (the anti-drug tune “Kicks”), singing TV group The Partridge Family (“I Really Want to Know You” and “I’m on the Road”) and British siren Dusty Springfield (“Just a Little Lovin’” from her iconic 1969 Dusty in Memphis album).
The 1970s brought collabs with rockers Blood Sweat & Tears (“So Long Dixie”), country singer B.J. Thomas (“Here You Come Again”) and the Grass Roots (“Mamacita”), as their hot streak continued into the 1980s with Bill Medley’s “Don’t Know Much,” which was a No. 2 hit for Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville in 1989, winning a Grammy in 1990 for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal. They did it again in 1981 with the Quincy Jones/James Ingram ballad “Just Once,” which hit No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a best male pop vocal performance Grammy in 1982.
Weil and Mann also wrote hits for Dionne Warwick (“Never Gonna Let You Go”), Bette Midler (“All I Need to Know”), Jeffrey Osborne (“We’re Going All the Way”), the Pointer Sisters (“Baby Come and Get It”) and Ronstadt and James Ingram (“Somewhere Out There”), a No. 2 hit they collaborated on with James Horner for the animated movie An American Tail that won Grammys in 1988 for song of the year and best song written specifically for a motion picture or television.
She also scored hits on her own or with other writers for the Pointers (“He’s So Shy”), Barry Manilow (“Somewhere Down the Road”), Lionel Richie (“Running with the Night,” “Love Will Conquer All”), Peabo Bryson (“If Ever You’re in My Arms Again”), Chaka Khan (“Through the Fire”), Sheena Easton (“So Far So Good”) and Martina McBride (“Wrong Again”).
Weil was the first woman recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (which she shared with Mann), and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and landed the first-ever National Academy of Songwriters Life Achievement Award (both with Mann), as well as the Songwriting Hall of Fame’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award in 2011. She is survived by Mann, 84, and their daughter, Jenn.
From “Die for You” to “Creepin’,” The Weeknd has become almost synonymous with the upper regions of the Billboard Hot 100 in recent years. With the imminent premiere of his new HBO drama, The Idol, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is angling himself toward a new arena: television domination.
The Idol, which The Weeknd co-created with Emmy-nominated Euphoria producer and director Sam Levinson, is set to star Lily Rose-Depp, Troye Sivan, Moses Sumney, Jennie Ruby Jane, and, of course, The Weeknd himself. On Friday (June 2), the “Earned It” singer sat down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 to discuss The Idol, the forthcoming soundtrack, and his new single “Popular,” which features Madonna and Playboi Carti.
“I’m definitely proud of it,” The Weeknd gushed. “And then Madonna, Madge. She’s the ultimate co-sign for this song, for this album, and for this TV show.”
Originally a collaboration between only The Weeknd and Playboi Carti, the “Can’t Feel My Face” singer revealed, “We’ve had a different version of this song prior. So I’ve had these vocals for a while and I’ve kind of just worked around it, and then kind of kept it in the tuck. But now it felt like it was time.”
“Popular” marks the second single from The Idol soundtrack following The Weeknd and Future’s No. 18-peaking duet “Double Fantasy.” Although “Popular” marks the first official collaboration between Madonna and The Weeknd, the Idol star promised that viewers will “hear more of her in the show. She is the ultimate pop star.”
With Madonna’s towering musical legacy and singular commercial success, it comes as no surprise that The Weeknd sings her praises. “I’ve always wanted to work with her,” he mused. “I’ve always wanted to write and produce a Madonna album … well, co-produce with her, of course … because she’s a visionary and she has such a singular vision, and I just want to come into her world and create a classic Madonna album. That was always my dream n… Hopefully, this is the appetizer for that.”
The Weeknd, who is currently in Portugal preparing for another leg of his globe-trotting After Hours Til Dawn Tour, worked on The Idol soundtrack alongside Sam Levinson and Mike Dean. “It’s such a labor of love and such a collaborative project,” he said. “You’ve got three maniacs in the studio … it’s a very cohesive body of work.”
Described as “very experimental, but still pop,” The Idol soundtrack also features production contributions from Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack curator and frequent Weeknd collaborator Metro Boomin.
The Idol is set to premiere on HBO Sunday (June 4). “I feel great because everyone involved feels great,” The Weeknd told Lowe of the show’s premiere. “We’re all so proud of what we made. It’s controversial. It is. And as you know, I’m no stranger to it. Sam is no stranger to it. We’re just excited for people to finally watch it and come up with their own opinion.”
Watch his interview with Zane Lowe above.
The Eras Tour is going global. After keeping fans waiting for months, Taylor Swift announced Friday (June 2) that she’s bringing her best-selling show to Latin America with summer and autumn stops in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, featuring Sabrina Carpenter as her opener. “Really thrilled to tell you this!!” the pop star wrote in a […]
Before hitting the road last March, Coldplay set some very ambitious environmental goals for their massive Music of the Spheres world tour. Their overarching aim was to reduce the carbon footprint from their 2016/2017 Head Full of Dreams stadium tour by more than 50%.
In a statement on Friday (June 2), the band said that the Spheres tour has so far produced 47% less CO2e emissions than their last outing and that they’ve planted five million trees to date, or roughly one for every one of the seven million tickets sold so far.
“When we first announced the Music Of The Spheres Tour, we hoped to make it as environmentally beneficial as possible and reduce our direct carbon emissions (from show production, freight, band and crew travel) by 50%,” read the statement, which said the data has been independently assessed and validated by professor John E. Fernandez of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI).
While the numbers are a “good start… and something that our incredible crew should be very proud of,” Coldplay said there is definitely still room for improvement. “Now that we’re into the second year of the tour, we’ve started to run the entire show (audio, lights, lasers etc) from an electric battery system that allows us to use 100% renewable energy as efficiently as possible,” it continued. “We have been using electric vehicles and alternative fuels wherever we can, as well as reducing waste and plastic usage to a minimum.”
They also thanked the crew that has allowed them to achieve their goals, as well as the fans who have helped power the stage batteries using the exercise bikes and kinetic dance floors, as well as those who’ve walked, used bicycles, ride shares or public transportation to get to the gigs, brought their own refillable water bottles and returned the LED wristbands after each concert.
“And just by coming you have had a tree planted, and helped a range of environmental organizations like The Ocean Cleanup and ClientEarth (a team of lawyers who defend the environment). Thank you all and hopefully this time next year we will have made big improvements.”
In an accompanying statement, MIT’s Fernandez added, “Based on a detailed review of the work of Coldplay’s sustainability team in assessing and advising the band and management on the CO2e impact of touring, we fully endorse this effort as critically important, scientifically rigorous and of the highest quality.
Fernandez said MIT ESI endorses the work Coldplay has done as an “important and substantive step toward a new era of eventually achieving carbon neutral music events by major artists. The band deserves significant praise in commissioning the work and acting as the vanguard for the global music industry as it begins to take seriously the reality of living and making music in the Anthropocene.”
Coldplay also shared a number of other environmental data points for the tour so far, including:
— The five million trees planted amount to 5,000 hectares of land restored across 17 countries and 21 planting projects.
— One solar-powered River Interceptor deployed in March 2021 in the Klang River in Malaysia with 158 tons of waste and 13 tons of ocean-bound plastic removed since the start of the tour.
— An 86% average return rate for the reusable, plant-based LED writstbands.
— 15kWh average power per show generation through in-show solar installations, kinetic dance floors and power bikes, which was enough to power the satellite stage performances each night and provide phone, laptop and tool-charging stations for the crew.
— 66% of all tour waste diverted from landfills.
— 3,770 meals and 73 kg of toiletries donated from tour catering to the unhoused.
— Financial support to environmental organizations including ClientEarth,The Ocean Cleanup, Climeworks, Sea Shepherd, Project Seagrass, Sustainable Food Trust, Cleaner Seas Group, Food Forest Project, Knowledge Pele, Conservation Collective and others
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, The Weeknd stands alongside fellow Idols Madonna and Playboi Carti, Foo Fighters pay tribute to a fallen brother and Peso Pluma lays down a session with Bizarrap. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Peso Pluma & Bizarrap, “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 55”
Considering how their respective rises have been similarly meteoric, the pairing of Peso Pluma and Bizarrap, on the latest edition of the latter’s viral YouTube series, constitutes one of the biggest collaborations of 2023, in any genre — an unlikely proposition just a few months ago. Yet “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 55” makes the most of the ascendant Mexican artist’s increasingly ubiquitous croon and the Argentine producer’s knack for letting his collaborators shine, then swooping in with some nifty embellishments: listen to how the team-up takes off into the stratosphere when a trap beat and more production effects arrive in the song’s final minute.
The Weeknd with Playboi Carti & Madonna, “Popular”
This week, one HBO Sunday-night franchise shuts down and another opens up, as the series finale of Succession is followed by the premiere of the controversy-courting music industry drama The Idol, co-starring The Weeknd. On “Popular,” the latest track from the series’ forthcoming soundtrack, The Weeknd, Madonna and Playboi Carti function like Kendall, Shiv and Roman pre-boardroom drama: what looks like an odd collection of artists on paper complement each other nicely, with The Weeknd and Madonna providing pop flourishes over plinking rhythms and Carti accentuating the song with some clipped bars to polish off what could be a kicky summer song.
Foo Fighters, But Here We Are
A press release for Foo Fighters’ latest album describes But Here We Are as “hard-fought” — an understandable description, considering the shocking death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year and the band’s decision to continue recording and touring in spite of his absence. Produced with Greg Kurstin and featuring some of Dave Grohl’s most nakedly heartfelt songwriting to date, But Here We Are finds power in grief: the 10-minute “The Teacher” towers above the rest of the album with choked-up ambition, but straightforward rockers like “The Glass,” where Growl howls “I had a vision of you, and just like that / I was left to live without it,” are just as effective.
Metro Boomin, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack
The Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack combines two successful brand names: the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse produced the No. 1 hit “Sunflower” by Swae Lee and Post Malone, while Metro Boomin, who helms the sequel soundtrack, has been scorching hot himself lately, thanks for last year’s Heroes & Villains albums and its top 10 smash “Creepin.” Like its predecessor, the Across the Spider-Verse set boasts a cavalcade of hip-hop superheroes — Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne, Offset, A$AP Rocky — but contains a greater cohesion thanks to Metro’s watchful eye; in addition to unexpected turns by James Blake and Nas on standalone tracks, we also get a pair of Swae Lee Spider-Verse curtain calls, “Calling” and “Annihilate.”
Jelly Roll, Whitsitt Chapel
Jason DeFord, better known as Jelly Roll, knows that he is an unlikely music star, to put it mildly: “It’s the f–king wildest story ever to me,” he says of his rise across multiple genre charts, after years of false starts and run-ins with the law, in the latest Billboard cover story. One listen to new album Whitsitt Chapel, however, will convince you that Jelly Roll’s stardom was preordained: nimble enough to hopscotch across sounds, clamp down on an anthem and transform his most intimate failings into universal inspiration, the singer-songwriter has translated his gifts onto a grand scale with the project, and is likely to provoke a sizable response.
Stray Kids, 5-Star
Commercial expectations are naturally high for Stray Kids’ latest project — after all, their two mini-albums from 2022, ODDINARY and MAXIDENT, both topped the Billboard 200 chart, giving the K-pop collective a place in the history books. Anticipation around 5-Star has reached a fever pitch, but if Stray Kids feel any pressure, they certainly don’t exhibit an ounce on the ultra-confident 5-Star, which once again combines pop, rap, dance and electronica into a product that caters to the group members’ individual skill sets and features some of the group’s punchiest cuts, including the wild-eyed opening shot “Hall of Fame” and the whisper-hook-laden “Super Bowl.”
Hayley Williams recently got tight-lipped after seemingly teasing a collaboration with Taylor Swift, but fans sure would like her to speak now.
At a recent Ulta meet-and-greet event, the Paramore frontwoman was captured on video accepting a homemade Speak Now-themed bracelet from a fan. “Let me just tell you, this is coming at a very interesting time that you’re giving me this to wear,” Williams said with a pointed smile while taking the bracelet. “And that’s all I’ll say.”
Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. First and foremost, Swift just announced a couple weeks ago that her next re-recorded album would be Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), surprising her Eras Tour crowd in Nashville with news that the project is set to arrive July 7.
The original 2010 Speak Now famously has no collaborations and was entirely self-written by Swift, but the pop star’s past two Taylor’s Version projects — Red and Fearless — both had a variety of guest appearances on previously unreleased “Vault” tracks. For instance, Phoebe Bridgers added duet vocals to “Nothing New” on Red (Taylor’s Version), and Keith Urban did the same for Fearless (Taylor’s Version) bonus track “That’s When.”
Plus, the “Still Into You” singer has previously said that Speak Now is her favorite of Swift’s eras, and in 2011, Williams made a guest appearance at one of the pop superstar’s Speak Now Tour shows. The longtime friends rocked out together on stage, and the “Anti-Hero” musician helped the Paramore singer perform the band’s Riot! track “That’s What You Get.”
Speaking of eras and tours, Paramore also opened for Swift’s first few Eras Tour shows in Glendale, Ariz., earlier this year.
“Having Paramore join me on tour is such an honor,” Swift told Billboard of the performances for the band’s January cover story. “We came up alongside each other as Nashville teenagers writing our own music, so it feels insanely special to kick off the tour together nearly two decades later … Hayley is such a riveting performer because she’s so multifaceted — bold and playful and ferocious and completely in command.”
Put that all together, and you’ve got a pretty compelling case that Williams may be getting a spot on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). At least, fans certainly think so. “Pretending not to care about the potential taylor and hayley collab on speak now tv so they announce it faster,” joked one Swiftie on Twitter.
“hayley motherf–king williams if you/paramore are featured on speak now taylor’s version i am going to levitate to places undiscovered by drugs or science please god,” tweeted another.
See more fan posts below:
hayley motherfucking williams if you/paramore are featured on speak now taylor’s version i am going to levitate to places undiscovered by drugs or science please god— ty ✰ heard getaway car ! (@owndiscomfort) June 1, 2023
if hayley willams is a feature on speak now tv you will NOT hear from me again i will literally be dead— caydence loves tyler ⊬ (@holdingontoTS) June 1, 2023
If Hayley Williams is truly on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) then start planning my funeral now— brad (speak now version) (@Mr_Swift1594) June 1, 2023
if hayley williams features on speak now tv i will deactivate and will probably die— aria 🦷 is cancelled (@iw4nttobelieve) June 1, 2023
Hayley is so sweet. Years ago she came into a store I worked at, and my manager told her how I was a fan, and she signed some paper we used to wrap fragile items with for me. I’d love for her to be in Speak Now TV so much. pic.twitter.com/Z2Bq2KMBk7— megan eras 7/15 | iso 7/14 🕰️ (@taysversiononly) June 1, 2023
was hayley saying speak now was her fav album and era an easter egg then..? like there’s truth to that statement no doubt But do u think she said it as a hint— evie ʚɞ⋆ 12 (@ahalfcrazygirl) June 1, 2023
if hayley williams is a feature on speak now, i fear i will be an insufferable nuisance to you all, and this will be me if/when it comes out: pic.twitter.com/PGvvNiMnio— parma-sean 🪐 (@andlookshesamum) June 1, 2023
While the media has fixated on K-pop superstars BTS, Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together, and, more recently, newbies Fifty Fifty, don’t sleep on Stray Kids.The South Korean boy band doesn’t get the attention, but they’re flying in the upper-elite class, with No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart with Maxident and Oddinary. Both recordings made a mark on the other side of the Atlantic, cracking the Official U.K. Albums Chart. According to the IFPI, Stray Kids was one of the top 10 most popular artists of 2022, coming in at No. 7 on the Federation’s year-end list, led by Taylor Swift; while Maxident was the No. 6 most popular album of the year (Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti was No. 1). The eight-member pop group return with 5 Stars (via JYP Entertainment and Republic Records), the lads’ third Korean-language studio album, and fourth overall. Prior to its release at the stroke of midnight, 5 Stars was already a hit. Based on data commissioned by online casino guide 6Takarakuji, the LP has notched more than 5 million pre-orders, ahead of recordings by BTS, TXT and Seventeen’s 10th mini album FML, which dropped last month. Stray Kids recently completed a string of concerts in North America, including their first-ever stadium concerts in the United States, for which they warmed-up with a late-night TV performance of Oddinary track “Maniac” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Forming in 2018, the Kids — Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. — took over the top 5 of Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, dated Jan. 28, with the title track at No. 1, and the cuts “DLMLU,” “Novel,” “Battle Ground” and “Lost Me” at Nos. 2-5, respectively.Later, in February, the boy band dropped The Sound, marking their first original Japanese full-length album.
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Spanning 12 songs, 5 Stars can be streamed in full below.
17 years ago, infamous socialite and marquee 2000s It Girl Paris Hilton made her Billboard Hot 100 debut with “Stars Are Blind.” The song, which simultaneously served as her debut single and the lead single for eponymous debut studio album, debuted and peaked at No. 18 on the chart, laying the foundation for its parent […]
