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People unveiled its annual “The Beautiful Issue” on Friday (April 28), with Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo, Dolly Parton and more making the 2023 list.
While Melissa McCarthy is the issue’s cover star ahead of her starring turn as Ursula in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, Lizzo and Parton are each part of the magazine’s “A Year of Beautiful” feature, along with the likes of P!nk, Rihanna, Jennifer Aniston, Riley Keough, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Elizabeth Banks, Margot Robbie, Michelle Yeoh, Florence Pugh, Ali Wong and more.
Rodrigo, meanwhile, kicks off the yearly “Beauty at Every Age” list. The 20-year-old hitmaker is followed by fellow musicians Halle Bailey (23), Latto (24), Zara Larsson (25), Doja Cat (27), Meghan Trainor (29), JoJo (32), SZA (33), Jhené Aiko (35), Lindsay Lohan (36), Ashley Tisdale (37), Mel B (47), Alanis Morissette (48) and Tanya Tucker (64). Living legends like Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Charo, Bernadette Peters and Gladys Knight go on to populate the upper echelon of the list in their confident and gorgeous 70s.
In another section, Kelsea Ballerini speaks about her divorce from ex-husband Morgan Evans and how the “turmoil” of the split inspired her latest EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. “When I sing ‘Penthouse,’ it’s a guttural moment with every woman in the room relating to some heartbreak,” the country singer says. “It’s a really healing thing.”
Elsewhere, Taylor Swift poses with her cats Benjamin Button, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey for the “Beauties and Their Beasts” segment, while Demi Lovato, Victoria Beckham, Selena Gomez, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Lopez and more all write letters to their younger selves in a feature called “Cuties to Beauties.”
People‘s “The Beautiful Issue” is out on newsstands now.
Maggie Baird has brought her Support + Feed mission to those in her community, to fans at her daughter Billie Eilish‘s concerts and, as of Friday (April 28), to Global Citizen Now.
The food and climate activist was one of four speakers on a panel about food insecurity and ethical, sustainable sourcing at the 2023 New York City summit for activists, joining Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness, restauranteur Pinky Cole and Eleven Madison Park owner Daniel Humm onstage in front of fellow industry leaders and members of the press. Baird founded Support + Feed in 2020 to combat hunger in Los Angeles during the pandemic, through which she developed a bigger mission of eliminating food insecurity via equitable plant-based food systems because, as she explains, “climate change is inextricably linked to what we eat.”
But environmentalism has been her life’s passion since long before then. Behind the scenes of the summit, Baird spoke with Billboard about spending most of her life as an “apologetic” vegan and climate warrior, until one Thanksgiving about 15 years ago, she just stopped apologizing. “I was like, no more going to people’s houses with the turkey on the table, everyone worshipping the destruction of an animal, nobody caring about the environment,” she recalls of putting her foot down.
“We’re going to do Thanksgiving at home alone, [because I’ve been] bringing all the food anyway cause I’m bringing the vegan version of everything,” she continues. “Why have I been apologizing for decades for doing something that is right?”
Both Eilish and her older brother/songwriting partner Finneas have grown up to become vocal climate activists. The “Bad Guy” singer features informative videos on Support + Feed at her concerts along with stations where fans can challenge themselves to eat daily plant-based meals, and she made her mom’s organization one of a few green organizations to benefit from her proceeds.
“Billie’s fans jumped on the bandwagon,” Baird says of Support + Feed’s beginnings. “It was amazing. One of the things I did with Billie from the beginning was push the music industry to be more sustainably minded. I think the music industry is special in a lot of ways. They have direct artist to fan connection — other forms of entertainment, not so much. A musician has a real heart-to-heart connection with their fans.”
And while Baird did raise Finneas and Billie with firm, sustainable values — every year, for example, their Christmas presents are wrapped in the same reusable cloths — she says both musicians independently found their own distinct passions for the cause. “I was not apologetic to my family, I was always very outspoken,” she says with a laugh. “We put things in their paths for them to learn it themselves. I remember very distinctly [Billie] watching a David Attenborough documentary with me and how it influenced her way more than I ever could. She’s quite adamant. Anything that might have come from me, she’s taken it on and then some.”
In addition to Baird’s food-focused discussion, the two-day Global Citizen Now summit included conversations on abortion access, supporting women in workplaces, protecting protesters in Iraq and Kenya and more climate-focused seminars. John Legend stopped by to advocate for greater voter turnout as the 2024 election approaches, actress Busy Philipps called for more representation of reproductive health issues in entertainment, and French President Emmanuel Macron joined in via video chat for a conversation on implementing global sustainability policies.
Going forward, Baird has plans to team up with more big-name musicians to spread Support + Feed’s message. Paramore endorses the organization at shows — “[Hayley Williams] basically said to me, ‘We don’t want to tour unless we’re doing something good for the world,’” Baird recalls — and Pharrell Williams has also come aboard.
“We can offer musicians the chance to reach their fans and do something really active,” Baird says. “They can give them the chance to learn about what’s happening, take our plant-based pledge and hopefully deliver meals. Musicians and music events are perfect because you’ve got so many people in the same place, and people who really care.”
They’ve got it bad! Zendaya and Tom Holland recently had a date night at Usher‘s Las Vegas residency.
“When I tell you we barely had a voice by the end of this… Childhood dream came true,” Zendaya wrote on an Instagram Story Thursday (April 27). The clip shows her singing gleefully along to Usher’s “Confessions Part II” with Holland next to her sporting a green hoodie.
In another moment captured by an attendee, Usher took a moment during the show to acknowledge the Spider-Man: No Way Home stars. “Zendaya is in the house, ladies and gentlemen. Tom Holland is in the house, ladies and gentlemen,” the R&B crooner told the crowd, which broke into rabid applause, and the attendee panned to the couple standing just a few seats away in the same section.
At CinemaCon Thursday, Zendaya opened up about her connection to Holland and her role as MJ Watson while accepting the star of the year award. “Literally my first date was when I was 15 years old and it was to go see [The Amazing] Spider-Man in 3D,” the Emmy winner said during her speech, according to People. “Now I consider myself honored to be able to buy a ticket and sneak into the back of one of your theaters, which I’ve done many times before, and watch my own.”
Usher’s My Way the Las Vegas Residency is currently running at the Dolby Live Theater inside the Park MGM, with 15 shows added through the end of October.
Meanwhile, Zendaya just made her own heralded return to the stage by surprising the crowd at Labrinth’s Coachella set on Weekend 2 to perform “All for Us” and “I’m Tired,” her two collaborations with the British producer featured on the soundtrack to HBO’s Euphoria.
Check out Zendaya and Holland living it up at Usher’s show in Sin City below.
Zendaya shares a video from the Usher concert last night in Las Vegas, “When I tell you we barely had a voice by the end of this… Childhood dream came true.” pic.twitter.com/MrJBNu4HQ6— Zendaya Updates (@Zendaya_Updated) April 27, 2023
Taylor Swift teamed up with The National on their new song “The Alcott” on Friday (April 28), and the collab immediately had Swifties buzzing over its lovelorn lyrics.
The downtempo cut off the band’s new album First Two Pages of Frankenstein finds the pop star’s voice melding perfectly with frontman Bryce Dessner’s as they wistfully intone, “And the last thing you wanted is the first thing I do/ I tell you my problems, you tell me the truth/ It’s the last thing you wanted, it’s the first thing I do/ I tell you that I think I’m falling back in love with you” on the chorus.
Swift’s ardent fandom flooded the Instagram comments of her official fan club’s posts announcing the track with reactions to the song, with one writing, “Taylor remember he’s dreamy, but you’re the sun in your universe!!! Thank you for allowing us to look directly in the sun when we see our lives reflected in your poetic music!”
Others were quick to compare the track to Folklore‘s “Exile” featuring Bon Iver and earlier The National collab “Coney Island” from Evermore. “It’s so exile im crying,” one commented; another opined, “This is literally Coney Island and exile’s love child and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT.”
Recently, Swift brought out The National’s Aaron Dessner out during her Eras Tour stop in Tampa, Fla. to perform Midnights bonus track “The Great War” as one of the tour’s many surprise songs.
Stream Swift and The National’s “The Alcott” and check out Swifties’ reactions to the song on social media below.
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, Jack Harlow grows from boy to man., Niall Horan keeps his cool, and Kesha takes a bold step forward. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Jack Harlow, Jackman.
Jack Harlow didn’t have to release a new album in 2023: after all, his 2022 LP, Come Home the Kids Miss You, spawned a No. 1 smash in “First Class,” and in a few weeks he’ll be starring in the White Men Can’t Jump remake. Instead of resting on his laurels and focusing on Hollywood, however, Harlow is back with Jackman., a semi-surprise release and a surprisingly urgent showcase of his technical skills as an MC. Rapping over soul samples and veering away from radio-ready choruses, Harlow treats the 24-minute project as a quick simplification of his craft — after becoming a star, he’s gone back to basics to illustrate his skills before the spotlights arrived.
Niall Horan, “Meltdown”
“When it all melts down, I’ll be there,” Niall Horan promises on new single “Meltdown” — addressing a romantic partner, most likely, but also serving as a beacon of support to the millions of listeners who have leaned on his voice throughout his solo career and time in One Direction. “Meltdown” finds Horan biting off a jumpy pop-rock production and swaggering through some ooo-ooo-ooo melodies; the heartbeat of the song is steady, and the singer-songwriter underlines the reliable pop presence that he was born to inhabit.
Kesha, “Fine Line” / “Eat the Acid”
Anyone who’s been paying attention to Kesha’s output over the past few years won’t be surprised about the sparse sound and unflinching attitude of her two new singles, “Fine Line” and “Eat the Acid” — yet even as she roamed farther away from the turbo-pop sound of her career beginnings, the singer-songwriter has never approached her craft with quite this much unfiltered lyricism and musical fragility. Both songs capture the bitter exhaustion that Kesha has documented during her years-long legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke, and both are striking in their intimacy, as if the listener is sitting next to Kesha during a breathtaking, two-part confessional.
Labrinth, Ends & Begins
Earlier this month, Labrinth scored one of Coachella’s biggest flexes when he brought out Billie Eilish during the first weekend to duet on “Never Felt So Alone,” then welcomed Zendaya onstage for weekend 2 for a pair of songs from the Euphoria soundtrack. The singer-songwriter has long been a highly respected collaborator and well-connected studio presence, and while new album Ends & Begins may be arriving during a particularly high-wattage moment in his career, the project highlights what he’s always been doing: utilizing his sparkling voice to find personal redemption, tinkering with the seams of modern R&B, and playing well off of others (especially Zendaya, who appears uncredited on the searing opener “The Feels”).
Eslabon Armado, Desvelado
As regional Mexican music experiences a frankly astonishing explosion across the U.S. mainstream, “Ella Baila Sola,” the collaboration between Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma, is helping to lead the charge, pushing into the top 5 of this week’s Hot 100 chart and setting up the California trio’s new album, Desvelado. For both longtime genre supporters and curious new fans, Eslabon Armado’s latest project functions as the perfect flash point: not only do rising stars like Grupo Frontera and DannyLux stop by along with Pluma, but the trio carve out a unique lane within regional Mexican on their own with songs like “Dame Otro Beso” and “Gracias a Ti.”
The National, First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Although The National’s ninth full-length is certainly the indie-rock stalwarts’ most star-studded affair to date — Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens all stop by, with guest appearances that will surely cause some rubbernecking streams from unfamiliar listeners — First Two Pages of Frankenstein is not some overdue play for mainstream adulation. If anything, The National have never been this hushed before: the 11 songs here sprawl out artfully, providing subtle reflections on the evolution of relationship details and corralling the band’s famous friends into their quiet, graceful atmosphere.
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?/ Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?” Those two lascivious French language come-on lines are among the most definitive lyrics in the 1974 Labelle Billboard Hot 100 hit “Lady Marmalade.” They appear in a song that has some equally inscrutable couplets including, “Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, da-da (hey, hey, hey)/ Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, here (here)/ Mocha Chocolata, ya-ya (ooh, yeah)/ Creole Lady Marmalade.
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All you need to know is that the song slaps. And that Labelle lead singer Patti LaBelle had absolutely no idea what she was saying when she sang those sweet French nothings into our ears half a century ago. During an appearance on Sherri Shepherd’s syndicated daytime talker earlier this week, LaBelle, 78, made a startling admission when Shepherd asked if she knew it would be such a big hit at the time.
“For once, I can say yes and really mean yes,” she said of her certainty that she needed to immediately record the song with band mates Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx. “I said, ‘We have to record this because it’s a hit,’ and it was,” she recalled telling late producer Allen Toussaint as the group headed to New Orleans to record with the legendary singer/writer/producer. “I had no clue it meant ‘will you sleep with me tonight.’ I didn’t know no French. I knew it was a hit… Yeah, that’s what that song was all about. And it was a hit,” she added about not knowing at the time that the refrain had such a saucy translation.
In addition to it being a smash for Labelle, the song hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 again in 2001 when Pink, Mya, Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim re-recorded it for the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!
Watch LaBelle’s interview below.
If you’ve seen pictures of Post Malone lately you may have noticed that the rapper is sporting a slimmer profile these days. That apparently led to some fans fretting that the party-loving MC and new dad may be burning it too hard on the road in Europe on his Twelve Carat Tour.
Posty addressed those concerns in an Instagram post on Friday morning (April 28) from a stop in Antwerp, Belgium in which he posed shirtless alongside a pair of killer snakeskin/camo cowboy boots while staring intently into the camera. “I wanted to say that i’m not doing drugs, i’ve had a lot of people ask me about my weight loss and i’d suppose, performance on stage,” he said.
“I’m having a lot of fun performing, and have never felt healthier. i guess dad life kicked in and i decided to kick soda, and start eating better so i can be around for a long time for this little angel. next up is smokes and brews, but i like to consider myself a patient man… lol!,” said Malone, who announced the birth of his daughter in June.
Leaning into that new healthy big dad energy, Posty said the good news is that he’s spent some time in the studio lately working on songs for the follow-up to last year’s Twelve Carat Toothache album. “[I] am so excited to share it with you, thank you for your patience and support y’all. you make my heart beat… my brain is in a super dope place, and i’m the happiest i’ve been in a long time. if you’re having a hard time or need some love, i can say that you’re loved more than you know, and keep f–king crushing it.”
Malone got some support from his musical pals, with Cole Bennett commenting, “You’re a special guy Posty” and Billy Strings adding, “Hell yeah!! You’re the raddest dad ever [raising hands emoji] wuuvv yooou.” Orlando Bloom loved the love also, writing, “Gotta love [heart emoji] love and those boot [fire emoji.]”
See Malone’s post below.
Almost a decade has passed since Kesha unlocked the next level to pop stardom with “Tik Tok.” It feels more like several lifetimes, during which the pop artist has dabbled in reality TV, reshaped her sound, style, image, and gone through the wringer with a high-profile court case.
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Now, she’s entering her next musical phase with the album Gag Order, set to drop May 19 via Kemosabe/RCA Records, which her reps say excavates “the deepest recesses of her soul to date.”
But first, the lead tracks from it, “Eat the Acid” and “Fine Line,” which arrived at the stroke of midnight, and are accompanied with the dark album artwork that depicts Kesha’s head in a plastic bag — a literal visualization to its “gag order” title.
“Fine Line,” an introspective ballad, and “Eat the Acid,” an experimental pop number, are notable for the absence of drums or a beat of any kind.
Rick Rubin produced the forthcomingalbum, which Kesha and her team describe as a “post-pop” “emotional exorcism” on which she finds empowerment in baptism-by-fire self-discovery and acceptance.
“Without the darkness there is no light. So I let my darkness have the light. I can’t fight the truth. Life is difficult and painful. It is for everyone,” she writes in an album manifesto. “An artist doesn’t exist to make others happy. I believe an artist gives voice, motion, color to the emotions we all have. The good emotions, and the unmanageably fucking miserable ones.”Kesha has notably been in a legal battle with Dr. Luke since 2014, when the producer and Kemosabe Records founder filed a defamation suit against her for claiming that he drugged and raped her in 2005. Just a few months ago, a New York judge scheduled a new trial start date — July 19 — for the case after key issues made its prior February start date unworkable.
Kesha is credited as executive producer on Gag Order, her fifth solo studio album and the followup to 2020’s High Road, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Stream “Fine Line” and “Eat the Acid” below.
It’s time to freak out because Niall Horan released his new single “Meltdown” on Friday (April 28) via Capitol Records.
On it, the Irish pop star sings, “Talkin’ to yourself in the bathroom/ Losin’ your mind in the mirror like you have to/ Screamin’ in your car in the driveway/ Spinnin’ out think your life’s going sideways.”
The track arrives as a follow-up to the previously-released “Heaven” as the second offering from the singer’s forthcoming third solo album The Show, which is expected to hit streaming services and digital and physical retailers in full on June 9.
In a social media post announcing the single and showing off its cover art filled with shadows and neutral tones, Horan described “Meltdown” as “basically about feeling anxious and being in that kind of freaking out moment but knowing deep down that everything will be alright.”
At the time, swarms of the former One Direction-er’s fans declared their appreciation for Horan choosing to address the feeling anxiety in his music. “Felt. seen. and ready to hear it,” one follower wrote, with another adding in all caps, “THIS IS GONNA BE MY COMFORT SONG I CAN TELL.” Lots of others immediately related to the song’s promised themes, commenting things like, “So basically me every day?” and “Okay so me 24/7????”
Currently, Horan is also deep into competing on his freshman season of The Voice against fellow coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and fellow newbie Chance The Rapper. Finishing the Season 23 Knockouts, Team Niall has been whittled down to just four hopefuls: Gina Miles, Ross Clayton, Michael B. and Tasha Jessen, whom he stole from Team Blake ahead of the Playoffs.
Stream Horan’s “Meltdown” below.
Lizzo turned another year older on Thursday (April 27) and celebrated by, well, wishing herself a happy birthday on social media.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZO,” the singer wrote on Instagram alongside a video of herself blowing out the candles on a marbled birthday cake featuring a portrait of her face framed by thick gold icing. She went even harder on TikTok by cheekily demanding, “IF 26.9 MILLION PEOPLE DONT WISH ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY IM QUITTING.”
While Lizzo posted the same celebratory video from her Instagram, the star also played her own 2022 song “Birthday Girl” over the clip on TikTok, her voice gleefully singing, “Is it your birthday, girl?/ ‘Cause you lookin’ like a present.” (Turns out the track is a reliable perennial for the hitmaker, considering she also used it to mark her birthday — and the official start of Taurus season — in 2022.)
Plenty of the “Grrrls” singer’s famous friends hopped into the comments to help celebrate her day. Chlöe Bailey wrote, “happy birthday beautiful,” while her younger sister Halle Bailey echoed her sentiments with birthday wishes of her own. Meanwhile, Lil Nas X, Saucy Santana, Yara Shahidi and others also filled Lizzo’s comments section with love.
This year, the Yitty designer is marking her birthday from the road as she’s in the middle of another trek across North America in support of her 2022 album Special. So far, she’s used the tour to protest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Tennessee with help from several queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race, design a custom tattoo for a fan mid-show, dance in a bikini in front of the famous St. Louis Arch and more.
Watch Lizzo revel in her birthday festivities below.
