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Heads up, ARMY: BTS is performing in concert this weekend, and you’re all invited to watch.
The guys of the world’s biggest boy band — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook — have partnered with Weverse to livestream a festival-style show for millions of fans, who are invited to attend virtually from all over the world. Keep reading to see all the details on how to tune in.
What Is the Concert?
in Busan is a global livestreamed BTS concert, planned to showcase the boyband’s support of Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Busan is one of four cities in the running to host the event — a world’s fair proposed to take place in 2030 — with Rome; Odesa, Ukraine; andRiyadh, Saudi Arabia also being considered. The Bureau International des Expositions will vote on the winning host country next year.
In July, the BTS boys were appointed honorary ambassadors for Busan’s World Expo 2030 bid. The band was chosen “because they understand the importance of the World Expo and share the same values,” according to a statement from BTS’ record label, Big Hit.
When and Where Will the Concert Take Place?
BTS is scheduled to perform at 6 p.m. KST (5 a.m. ET) this Saturday (Oct. 15). They’ll take the stage in Busan Asiad Main Stadium in Busan, South Korea.
The concert’s venue was originally planned to be Ilgwang Special Stage, but Big Hit later announced in a September press release that the location had been changed to Busan Asiad Main Stadium “to preserve the main purpose of the concert and for the audience to have a smooth, enjoyable and accessible viewing experience.”
How to Watch on Weverse
First, you’ll need to make a free account on Weverse using your email.
Then, come concert time, all you’ll need to do to watch BTS perform on your computer is click this link. Alternatively, stream the concert on the mobile Weverse app or on the Weverse Smart TV app.
The livestream will have eight different languages available for subtitles to help ensure that ARMY from around the world can enjoy the show. The languages are Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai.
No RSVP is required to watch the show.
Beyoncé and her team have thoroughly shut down allegations that Nusi Quero wasn’t paid for his work on styling the singer in her Renaissance album artwork.
After the designer claimed in now-deleted Instagram posts that Bey’s team — specifically her stylist Marni Senofonte — had never compensated him for his contributions to the “Break My Soul” vocalist’s high-fashion album photo shoots, an official statement denying all of Quero’s “troubling” allegations was shared Thursday (Oct. 13) with Entertainment Tonight.
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“It is deeply troubling that designer Nusi Quero has posted damaging statements about Marni Senofonte regarding non-payments for work completed,” said Beyoncé’s rep in the statement. “In fact, he was paid for his work, and there is proof of all payments made.”
The statement continued to divulge specific details about the alleged timeline of payments made by the 28-time Grammy winner’s camp to Quero.
“We have been in communication with his team and there were three payments made to him,” it reads. “The first payment was made on May 9, 2022. The second payment, a fifty percent down payment on the agreed cost, was made via wire on July 8, 2022. The third and final payment was returned when he changed his account number. It was returned as an invalid account number based on an error on his part.”
“After persistent and exhausting communication to get the correct information on his account and two unsuccessful wire transfer attempts, a physical check was mailed to him for final payment on September 29, 2022,” the statement concluded, according to ET.
Billboard has reached out to Beyoncé’s reps for comment.
Quero’s accusatory claims are just the latest to arise regarding Beyoncé’s Renaissance album cycle. Pop duo Right Said Fred alleged earlier this month that Bey had neglected to approach them for permission to sample their 1992 hit “I’m Too Sexy” in a track called “Alien Superstar” on her July-released record.
“Normally the artist approaches us but Beyoncé didn’t because she’s such an arrogant person,” brothers-turned-bandmates Richard and Fred Fairbrass told U.K. tabloid The Sun at the time.
“Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album,” Beyoncé responded to the allegations in a statement to Billboard, noting that the brothers had been given a co-writing credit on “Alien Superstar.” “For their song, there was no sound recording use, only the composition was utilized. Permission was asked of their publisher on May 11, 2022, and the publisher approved the use on June 15, 2022. They were paid for the usage in August 2022.”
Before that, Kelis alleged something similar. In July, she called out Bey and The Neptunes for interpolating her 2003 hit “Milkshake” into Renaissance track “Energy,” writing on Twitter at the time that her mind was “blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding.”
Beyoncé responded by removing the interpolation altogether from “Energy” as it appeared on Tidal and Apple Music.
Taylor Swift revealed a detail about her writing process in September: She categorizes each of her songs as having “Fountain Pen,” “Quill Pen” or “Glitter Gel Pen” lyrics. And now, one week ahead of the release of her new album Midnights, the pop star has teamed up with Apple Music to unveil three playlists that reveal which of those uniquely specific groupings are home to a handful of her tracks — from songs on Fearless (Taylor’s Version) to Evermore.
Announced Friday (Oct. 14), Apple’s playlists are titled after Swift’s three “Pen” groupings, something she opened up about while accepting the Songwriter-Artist of the Decade honor at the Nashville Songwriter Awards. “I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down, figuratively,” she’d said in her speech. “I don’t actually have a quill. Anymore. I broke it once when I was mad.”
Each of the playlists begin with a personal audio message recorded by the 11-time Grammy winner herself, followed by anywhere from 11 to 18 songs spanning her past three albums — Lover, Folklore and Evermore — and her two rerecorded albums, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version). The longest of the playlists is Swift’s “Fountain Pen Songs,” which include modern lyrics full of familiar references and vivid imagery, according to Apple’s description (think “All Too Well,” “Lover,” “Champagne Problems,” etc.).
“Most of my lyrics are ‘Fountain Pen’ lyrics,” Swift said in a statement with Apple. “They’re modern personal stories, written like poetry, about those moments you remember all too well where you can see, hear, and feel everything in screaming detail.”
Songs such as “Willow,” “Red” and “Carolina” — which she composed for the July film Where the Crawdads Sing — make up the “Quill Pen” playlist, while the “Glitter Gel Pen” lineup features bouncier tracks including “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “You Need to Calm Down” and “You Belong With Me.”
“Glitter Gel Pen songs have lyrics that make you want to dance, sing and toss glitter around the room,” Swift continued. “They remind you not to take yourself too seriously, which is something we all need to hear these days. Quill Pen songs are songs with lyrics that make you feel all old fashioned, like you’re a 19th century poet crafting your next sonnet by candlelight.”
Listen to her three playlists below:
Billboard’s First Stream 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, Lil Baby takes his turn again, Blink-182 is back and edgier than ever, and The 1975 has a concise mission statement. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:
Lil Baby, It’s Only Me
On the one hand, Lil Baby is a natural star, with a singular voice and the type of charisma that can carry him through solo hits, guest verses and commercial opportunities; on the other hand, Lil Baby’s music, sometimes anxious and often insular, does not line up with the longstanding tenets of mainstream hip-hop. That tension between personality and product has been fascinating to witness as Lil Baby’s profile has exploded since 2020’s My Turn, and makes up the heart of It’s Only Me, which arrives as a blockbuster (with guest spots from Future, Young Thug, Jeremih and Pooh Shiesty, among others) but is defined by Baby’s attention to detail and searing approach to storytelling instead of any lunges toward catchiness. Complex and affecting, It’s Only Me finds Lil Baby embracing his own definition of stardom.
Blink-182, “Edging”
“I’m a punk rock kid, I came from hell with a curse / She tried to pray it away, so I f–ked her in church,” Tom DeLonge sings in the opening minute of Blink-182’s comeback single “Edging,” cutting to the chase on his first Blink single since a years-long hiatus. The trio’s focus is on next year’s enormous reunion tour, but “Edging” proves that DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker still know how to get in a room and create tight, catchy, exceedingly sophomoric pop-punk; it’s great to have them back.
The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language
The 1975 are responsible for some of the most dazzling pop songs of the past decade, so the fact that Matty Healy and co. decided to team up with Jack Antonoff for Being Funny in a Foreign Language — with the seeming intent of making an album about love — should entice anyone who’s even a casual fan of the UK group. What Antonoff offers on the full-length is focus: the band’s typical studio sprawl is streamlined to 11 tracks here, bursting with hope for a better tomorrow in the digital age and adoration of pop song craft (“Oh Caroline,” for instance, is the sound of everyone involved synthesizing the ‘80s and firing on all cylinders).
Zach Bryan, “Starved”
“Starved” serves as a pristine example of why Zach Bryan has become one of country music’s breakout stars of the year: the new single, which follows the prolific singer-songwriter’s American Heartbreak album and Summertime Blues EP, functions more as an apotheosis of his country-rock songwriting than as a stopgap single, drenched in memories and moving forward with a choked-up growl. “There’s no world in which I am good for you,” Bryan concludes in the bridge, as strings quietly soundtrack his hurt.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Return of the Dream Canteen
Red Hot Chili Peppers may have made fans wait six years for new music following 2016’s The Getaway, but they also made the payoff worth their while, with both Unlimited Love and now Return of the Dream Canteen coming out in 2022 (with a stadium tour across North American in between their releases). At 75 minutes, Return of the Dream Canteen (recorded during the Unlimited Love sessions) is both a deluge of what the Chilis do best — opening track “Tippa My Tongue” gives Anthony Kiedis free range to spit his game — and a project that’s more satisfying than a B-sides collection, especially when it comes to blissed-out cuts like the Eddie Van Halen tribute “Eddie.”
Nessa Barrett, Young Forever
Pop, alternative, pop-punk, emo — however you want to describe Nessa Barrett’s music, the singer-songwriter has found a niche in telling stories that work on radio stations and in TikTok clips. Young Forever, Barrett’s debut album, continues down the emotionally unflinching path that she began with the stunning eating disorder account “Dying on the Inside,” as tracks like “Dear God” and “Tired of California” document feelings of emptiness and ennui above ethereal arrangements.
Betty Who is an undeniably big presence. As a woman standing at 6’2”, the 29-year-old Sydney, Australia native has spent a lifetime knowing she’ll inevitably draw attention any time she enters a room. And this phenomenon holds true as she walks into New York social club Ludlow House on a rainy Wednesday on the Lower East Side.
Over the last decade, Betty’s height has also become an elemental characteristic to her brand — that of an Amazonian pop force she describes as “sixty percent lesbian singer-songwriter, forty percent Britney Spears superfan.” On stage, she entrances as a statuesque blonde who’s become a regular on the Pride circuit and a must-see performer for pop obsessives known for her energetic, dance-heavy show, replete with muscled backup dancers, costume changes and unabashed celebrations of queer joy.
However, as she curls up on one of the exclusive social club’s lush, velveteen couches, Betty isn’t dressed to put on a show. Instead, she’s decidedly casual for the day, layering a cozy red sweater on top of a loose, white button-down and black slacks. Pairing a single strand of pearls with a blue trucker hat emblazoned with an oil and gas company’s logo, the whole look projects effortless, gender-neutral cool.
Betty, who was born Jessica Newham, is in New York for just one day to discuss her new album – the appropriately exclamatory BIG!, which arrives Friday (Oct. 14) via BMG – as well as her newly discovered mission as an artist. “Why am I here?” she asks rhetorically. “I think it’s to provide community and try to wipe out the feeling of aloneness and otherness that so many people have when they’re not seeing themselves reflected back.”
When it comes to feeling uniquely isolated, her height and gender naturally play into the equation. “I have had that experience so singularly and specifically being a very tall woman,” she says. “But also, like, so many people feel exactly the same way about themselves that I do. Mine happens to be my height. Other people’s is about their hair. Or their weight. Or their feet… So now if I’m put in a power position to be like, ‘Look! I’m queer, I’m different and I made it here because I embraced it as opposed to ran away from it for a decade,’ I guess that’s what I’m trying to manifest.”
A key part of bringing that newfound goal to fruition meant reaching another level of vulnerability in her music. Take BIG’s title track: a tender, diaristic centerpiece on which she boldly proclaims, “If legends are loud and built to stand out, guess that’s who I’m meant to be/ Ten feet tall and I’m proud of it/ You can’t make me smaller, you’ll never make me fit/ ‘Cause baby I was born to be big” over smoldering synths, blazing guitars and the crash of gargantuan drums.
From the beginning of her career, Betty’s music has always been rooted firmly in the sounds and styles of modern pop. As a student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, she obsessively studied Billboard 200 chart-toppers like Spears’ Femme Fatale and Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream alongside erstwhile producer Peter Thomas as a kind of blueprint to follow on her 2014 debut Take Me When You Go. But after creatively parting ways with Thomas after three albums and enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an entirely different sort of artist who made her stop and reevaluate her musical vision in late 2020.
“I had a moment driving back from Michigan to L.A., my mom and I did a road trip. Driving. Cooked. Long, long three days,” she reflects. “And we were listening to [Kacey Musgraves’] Golden Hour. It was before Star-Crossed came out…listening to the song “Mother” with my mom. And so she starts crying and I, like, almost had to pull over ’cause [then] I’m crying.
“And I was like, ‘I think this is the thing I wanna do: have feelings and share them and impact people,” Betty continues. “I don’t think it’s about the wig that I’m wearing on stage.’ Whoa. Who knew? Not me…I had my priorities really mixed up for a long time.” That emotional revelation courtesy of Musgraves led to Who holing up in a cabin in Park City, Utah for two solid weeks with her three co-producers, including Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson, to create the album that would eventually become BIG. And instead of taking sonic cues from pop princesses of the 2000s and 2010s, Who found inspiration from a completely different set of references, like ‘80s rockers Kenny Loggins and Journey.
“There’s a lot of testosterone in the music,” she says. “Which is what I wanted. Some of the music that I care the most about is that, like, kind of intense, super coked-out ’80s sound, so overtly heterosexual that it is inherently the gayest thing ever. That’s one of my favorite sub-sects of culture.”
Instructing her co-producers to “think of me as a gay man instead of a queer woman,” the unique approach harnessed a completely new, masculine kind of queer energy in Betty’s songwriting, and even challenged the singer’s perception of her own gender expression by the time the record was complete. While she insists she feels entirely comfortable and authentic using she/her pronouns, songs like album highlight “I Can Be Your Man” — a slinky kiss-off which finds her helping a friend through a breakup by coyly taking the place of her now-ex-boyfriend — helped move her along a path to reject traditional precepts of femininity, ones she so often felt both bound to and stifled by as a female pop star.
“I was just like, ‘Oh, I actually just have to stop subscribing to a bunch of the stuff that I thought I had to be as a woman, and figure out what that means for me,’” she says. “And a lot of it is pulling away from femininity and exploring my masculine side. And then that’s allowing me to come full circle back to my divine feminine sensuality – sexuality stuff that has made me a lot more clear about what that is and what’s really powerful in me about that. But I definitely live outside of the binary of gender, that’s for sure.”
As a body of work, no pun intended, BIG! is also a particularly marked departure from Who’s last album, 2019’s Betty. And though that LP bears the singer’s name, she says it now represents something like a time capsule — one of a particularly difficult chapter in her life after being dropped by RCA Records in 2017. “I was in so much pain when I made that record,” Who says of Betty. “I was pretty in survival mode. And also very in a desperate attempt to prove myself to everybody else. All I probably did was prove myself to myself, that I could make a record without the help of a label.”
However, when she looks back at Betty with the benefit of hindsight, the singer admits the project’s 13-song tracklist, which includes fan favorite tracks like “Ignore Me,” “Do With It” and “The One, feels varied to the point of incohesion. “I think when I listen to it now, I hear all the different wigs I’m trying on, you know what I mean?” she offers. “Of course they’re all different aspects of my personality…But to then try and tie them all together with a short little skirt and a microphone on stage, I look back at her and I literally do not recognize her from where I’m sitting now.”
It’s by design — albeit also somewhat ironic — that BIG! feels, in many ways, more intimate and personal than its independently released, self-titled predecessor. This summer, the album roll-out for the record began with lead single “Blow Out My Candle,” a triumphant anthem that finds Betty fearlessly confronting her critics and non-believers. She insisted the track be the starting point of the album’s overall narrative, and had a particular statement to make in the accompanying music video – choosing a utilitarian leotard and bright track jacket as her only wardrobe pieces, as she belts out, “I won’t stop runnin’ down that road/ I’ll keep dancin’ till I die/ You can blow out my candle/ But you’ll never put out my fire.”
“I’m really trying to get very realistic and self-aware,” she says months after the visual dropped. “And the ‘Blow Out My Candle’ video was a really big part of that, where I was like, ‘I’m gonna be in a leotard, but it’s not because I’m giving sexy kitten. I’m giving, like, ‘Here’s my body. Here’s my face. Here’s all of it in 360. I’m not hiding behind stuff or at an angle that makes me look thinner than I am. This is me.’”
The wistful “She Can Dance” — a kind of autobiographical elder sister to the LP’s title track — soon followed, though Who describes her feelings about the song as “tumultuous,” despite it being the label’s favorite track on the album altogether.
“I wanted to write a brand statement [for the album],” Betty says of “She Can Dance” – though in the process she inadvertently ended up essentially putting her life story to music. And with lyrics like, “Couple records come and gone/ Never thought it’d take this long/ Sometimes I wonder who the hell I’m foolin’/ Got no trophies on the shelf/ Record deal went straight to hell/ I swear to God, I don’t know what I’m doin’,” it’s easy to see why the song would leave her feeling exposed.
Yet Betty’s commitment to radical authenticity — in both her music and her personal identity — remains immutable and bigger than ever, no matter how many growing pains or as yet unforeseen obstacles remain in front of her.
“I’m allowing myself to be seen,” she says. “It feels like the journey to BIG has been gruesome. It’s like that shedding of snake skin. It’s not, like, painless in the middle of the night for me. It’s like the Hulk ripping off clothes, like, fully screaming as I’m becoming my final form.”
Stream Betty Who’s BIG in full below.
Louis Tomlinson is continuing the rollout for his highly anticipated new album, Faith in the Future, with a brand new single, “Out of My System,” which arrived on Friday (Oct. 14).
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“Out of My System” is the second track from the former One Direction member’s forthcoming LP. The album’s lead track, “Bigger Than Me,” arrived Sept. 1 and peaked at No. 35 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. The track also found success on Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs chart, where it debuted at No. 14 on the chart dated Sept. 17.
In an interview with SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up last month, Tomlinson described infusing the album with both an emphasis on live sound and multidimensional production, contrasting the guitar-driven elements of his first studio album Walls. “It’s really important to me in the live show, but also in how the tracks are produced as well,” said Tomlinson. “Me and the producers were a little braver on this record. It was marginally one-dimensional on the first record where I was just thinking about guitar sounds and guitar-driven songs.”
Tomlinson added that reflecting during the pandemic led him to realize what style of music he truly wanted to make. “Lockdown was good for these kinds of thoughts,” said Tomlinson, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I realized I want to chase something else. I wanted to find something else that was more fulfilling for me at this time.”
Listen to “Out of My System” below.
When Stray Kids hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with their Oddinary EP in March, it was a wake-up call to the music industry that the K-pop boy band had arrived on the scene with songs that stayed true to their underdog and outsider mentality. With the October release of Maxident, Stray Kids are back with more eyes on them than ever but refusing to re-create what brought them their breakout success.
Instead, Maxident lets the band venture into new territory — particularly love and relationships — but does so in their own way. The eight tracks on Maxident aren’t gushy, catchy love songs, but quirky and unorthodox explorations into all things connection. Just like the comforting theme of Oddinary in making the odd the ordinary, Maxident is relatable and clever in the way it approaches the subject, incorporating more extensive and universal themes in the tracks related to relationships one has with other people and with one’s self.
But more eyes on Stray Kids also gives them a prime opportunity to introduce the inner-workings of their group with songs performed by the band’s different sub-groups. 3RACHA (the hip-hop and production-focused trio made up of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han) create a self-titled drill track, while Lee Know, Hyunjin and Felix (the performance-based trio, nicknamed “Danceracha”) come together for “Taste,” as Seungmin and I.N (the singer-focused duo nicknamed “Vocalracha”) have “Can’t Stop.”
Get to know a new side of Stray Kids and read on for our ranking of Stray Kids’ Maxident tracks and why listeners will “STAY” with each song far beyond release week.
There’s never been a better time for a Swifties to start their fitness journeys. In a Thursday (Oct. 13) Instagram post, Apple Fitness+ announced that its newest set of exercise programs will be designed around the music of Taylor Swift, featuring songs specially curated for yoga, treadmill and HIIT workouts.
In the post, Apple unveiled its three new workout programs by recreating the cover of Midnights, Swift’s tenth studio record due out Oct. 21, along with two of the album’s special edition covers. Each version of the pop star’s album features a different photo on the cover; in one of them, she leans backward on a piano bench, her right knee bent.
In Apple’s version, titled “Yoga with Jonelle,” the cover instead features an instructor in almost the same position, lying on a yoga mat with her right knee held to her chest in a stretch. And in place of the Midnights tracklist, Apple’s take on the Midnights cover includes a “workout playlist.”
“Get ready to sweat, Swifties,” reads Apple’s caption, which does not reveal when the Tay-themed workouts will be released. “In our next Artist Spotlight, you will be able to work out to the tunes of @taylorswift, including tracks from her monumental new album Midnights. It’s time to #CloseYourRings and pre-add #TSMidnights on @applemusic now.”
Swift songs new and old are featured on the playlists for Apple’s workouts — which also include “Treadmill with Scott” and “Hiit with Anja” — from her Fearless (Taylor’s Version) deep cut “Breathe” with Colbie Caillat to her Evermore fan favorite, “Right Where You Left Me.” There are several Midnights tracks scattered across the three workout playlists, but the exact titles aren’t yet revealed; instead Apple simply wrote “TS Midnights Track” in spots where songs from the upcoming album will go.
The 11-time Grammy winner’s partnership with the brand marks the latest of Apple Fitness’ Artist Spotlight series, which dedicates full workout playlists to a single artist. Previous workouts have featured music from Mary J. Blige, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Katy Perry, BTS and more.
See how Apple Fitness+ recreated the covers of Taylor Swift’s Midnights for the platform’s new Taylor Swift-themed workouts below:
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are choosing to sit out this year’s Grammy Awards. In a statement to Billboard on Thursday (Oct. 13), Mars confirmed that the duo will not submit the acclaimed debut by their Silk Sonic duo, An Evening With Silk Sonic, for Grammy consideration.
“Andy and I, and everyone that worked on this project, won the moment the world responded to first single ‘Leave The Door Open.’ Everything else t just icing on the cake,” Mars said of the retro soul track that won four Grammy awards in April, including song of the year, record of the year, best R&B song and best R&B performance; the An Evening album was released in Nov. 2021, which would have made it eligible for nominations at the 2023 ceremony.
“We thank the Grammys for allowing us to perform on their platform – not once but twice – and awarding us at last years ceremony. We’d be crazy to ask for anything more,” he said of the duo’s spirited performance at this year’s show of “777” and “Hot Music” and a 2021 run through “Leave the Door Open” at that year’s broadcast. “Thank you to everyone that supported this project and championed for it. We truly put our all on this record, but Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly and most importantly, sexually, bow out of submitting our album this year. We hope we can celebrate with everyone on a great year of music and partake in the party. Thank you for letting Silk Sonic Thrive.”
In a statement to Billboard, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, “Silk Sonic has been such a fun highlight of our last couple of shows and they deservedly had an amazing night at the 64th GRAMMYs earlier this year. We appreciate their decision not to submit this year but look forward to celebrating an amazing year in music together.”
Given the Grammy love Silk Sonic’s debut single received — as well as Mars’ impressive to-date haul of 15 Grammy wins on 31 nominations, as well as four wins for .Paak — the SS album was expected to vie with such fellow potential album of the year contenders as Harry Styles, Adele, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift at the awards slated to take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2023.
Lea Michele was filled with glee when she saw which young pop star was in the audience at Funny Girl Wednesday night (Oct. 12). Posting on Instagram, the 36-year-old actress revealed that Olivia Rodrigo had attended the night’s show, and had posed for a backstage photo with Michele, who’s starred as the titular role of Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival since taking over for Beanie Feldstein in September.
In the Thursday (Oct. 13) Instagram photo, the two stars cozy up next to each other, Michele’s hand on the “Drivers License” singer’s shoulder, and smile into the camera behind the stage curtain at New York City’s August Wilson theater. “This beautiful girl came to see @funnygirlbwy last night,” the Glee alum captioned the post.
“Loved seeing you @oliviarodrigo,” she added. “Absolutely adore you!”
“LOVE U!” Rodrigo replied in the comments. “U WERE INCREDIBLE!!!!”
The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series actress isn’t the only famous friend to have stopped to see Funny Girl as of late — though she is probably the only one to have written a No. 3 hit single (“Deja Vu”) that specifically mentions Michele’s breakout TV show by name (“Watching reruns of Glee / Being annoying, singing in harmony”). One week ago, Michele’s former Glee costar Darren Criss came to see the show with his wife, Mia Swier, both of whom also posed for a photo backstage with the “Funny Girl” herself.
“The amount of times this guy has heard me sing Don’t Rain On My Parade,” Michele joked at the time, referencing in her caption the multitude of times her Glee character Rachel Berry performed the song Barbra Streisand made famous. “I love you.”
See Lea Michele’s photo with Olivia Rodrigo backstage at Funny Girl on Broadway below:
