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Janet Jackson took to Instagram on Monday morning (Dec. 12) to make a live announcement about her 2023 North American arena/amphitheater tour. “I’m going back on tour and, yes, we will be together again,” said the singer with a smile, noting that the name of the outing is Together Again. “I miss you guys so much and I cannot wait to see you,” she added.
The other big news was that rapper Ludacris will serve as the opening act on the 33-date Live Nation-produced tour. And, and in even bigger news, Jackson confirmed that she’s been back in the studio. “There will be new music,” the singer promised, without revealing any details about when it will drop or any titles.
The tour is slated to kick off on April 14 in Hollywood, Florida at Hard Rock Live Arena and feature stops in Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, New York, Atlantic City, Milwaukee, Dallas, Los Angeles and Portland before winding down on June 21 in Seattle, WA at Climate Pledge Arena.
A promotional video promised a night of hits, plus new music. The fan pre-sale begins on Tuesday (Dec. 13) at 11 a.m. local time, with the general on-sale kicking off on Friday (Dec. 16) at 11 a.m. local time; click here for more information on tickets. Jackson’s last major tour was in 2019, on which she celebrated the 30th anniversary of her landmark Rhythm Nation 1814 album.
In October, Jackson surprised friends and fans by showing up at a London party celebrating the 25th anniversary reissue of her 1997 Velvet Rope album. The set was re-released on Oct. 7 via digital retailers and streamers with additional bonus tracks, including 10 cuts that made their official streaming debut.
After Jackson greeted partygoers – while the DJ spun classic Jackson tracks alongside tunes such as Beyoncé’s “Heated” and Missy Elliott’s “She’s a Bitch” – Jackson took the mic to share memories of making The Velvet Rope. “This album is so, so close to me,” Jackson told the crowd via Instagram Live. “It was, I would say, out of all the albums that I’ve created, and especially with Jimmy [Jam] and Terry [Lewis], it was the most difficult … the most difficult album for me to create.”
“I was going through so much in my life,” Jackson said at the event, “and it was so deep, in trying to find and figure out who I am, where I stand. And at the end of the day, like I did with the other albums, just putting it down, never keeping a journal. I’m sure a lot of you already know this. And I didn’t know if my fans would like it.”
See Jackson’s announcement and the 2023 dates below.
Janet Jackson 2023 Together Again tour dates:
April 14 — Hollywood, FL
April 19 — Orlando, FL
April 21 — Savannah, GA
April 22 — Birmingham, AL
April 25 — Columbia, SC
April 27 — Atlanta, GA
April 29 — Memphis, TN
April 30 — St. Louis, MO
May 2 — Kansas City, MO
May 4 — Nashville, TN
May 6 — Bristow, VA
May 9 — New York, NY
May 12 — Charlotte, NC
May 13 — Baltimore, MD
May 14 — Virginia Beach, VA
May 19 — Mansfield, MA
May 20 — Atlantic City, NJ
May 23 — Toronto, ON
May 24 — Detroit, MI
May 26 — Noblesville, IN
May 27 — Tinley Park, IL
May 28 — Milwaukee, WI
May 30 — St. Paul, MN
June 2 — Dallas, TX
June 3 — Houston, TX
June 4 — Austin, TX
June 7 — Phoenix, AZ
June 9 — Irvine, CA
June 10 — Los Angeles, CA
June 11 — San Diego, CA
June 16 — Mountain View, CA
June 20 — Portland, ME
June 21 — Seattle, WA
SZA is just days away from unveiling her long-awaited new album, S.O.S, and the star added to the anticipation on Monday (Dec. 5) by dropping the star-studded tracklist.
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“Which version for back tracklist?” she tweeted alongside two separate creatives for the 23-track list, which is scribbled in white font on a photo of SZA laying on the ground, oiled up with her underwear on display. The upcoming album has a number of guest features including Don Toliver on “Used,” Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost in the Machine,” Travis Scott on “Open Arms” and Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Forgiveless.”
Over the weekend, the TDE singer-songwriter also debuted a new song, “Blind,” from the upcoming set while serving as the musical guest on the Keke Palmer-hosted Saturday Night Live. She also performed her recent viral single “Shirt,” which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early November.
SZA recently covered Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue. In the cover story, she questioned her longevity in music and where she sees her career going forward. “I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” SZA admitted. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”
S.O.S follows the star’s 2017 debut, Ctrl, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits like “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks” and “The Weekend.”
Ciara got dressed up in her finest all-black going-out fit to celebrate husband Russell Wilson’s 34th birthday on Tuesday (Nov. 29). The Denver Broncos QB slipped into a tuxedo for a photo shoot in which the devastatingly handsome pair shared a kiss in their living room soundtracked by Mary J. Blige’s “Everything.”
“Intelligent, Beautiful, Loving, Caring, Thoughtful, Consistent, Special, Anointed, Rare, A Legend, a Winner, Everything that is YOU!” Ciara wrote in the caption to her post. “I love you so much Birthday Boy @DangeRussWilson! Today a King was born! I love you so much! I’m so proud to celebrate you today and everyday.”
Wilson appreciated the loving words, responding in kind to his wife’s post, writing, “I am grateful I get to spend the rest of my life with you. And one day Eternity in Heaven. I love you Mrs. @Ciara Wilson.” The couple, who got married in July 2016, share a daughter and a son.
Back in September, Ciara returned to playlists with the feel-good R&B jam “Better Thangs” featuring Summer Walker. The single dropped after the singer closed a new deal with Republic Records and Uptown Records (in partnership with her Beauty Marks Entertainment label) on the heels of her July single “Jump.”
“For me, joy is the ultimate feeling that I was feeling [when creating ‘Better Thangs’], and I wanted for people to feel that with this record,” Ciara told Billboard after the song dropped. The Grammy-winning artist revealed that both “Jump” and “Better Thangs” will appear on the as-yet-untitled studio album that will serve as a follow-up to her 2019 release, Beauty Marks.
Check out Ciara’s post below.
LL Cool J will receive the entertainment icon award at the fifth Urban One Honors, which will tape at The Eastern in Atlanta on Friday, Dec. 2. David and Tamela Mann will receive the inspirational impact award. R&B singer and actor Tank will host the show.
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The two-hour telecast, with the theme “Celebrating Icons of the Culture,” is set to premiere on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) on TV One and Cleo TV, a division of Urban One.
A lifetime achievement honor, music innovation honor, and the first-ever Phoenix honor will also be presented on this year’s show. Those honorees are expected to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 1.
LL Cool J received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the award for musical excellence category in 2021. He’s a two-time Grammy winner for best rap solo performance and a five-time host of the annual Grammy Awards telecast.
Tamela Mann won a Grammy for best gospel performance/song six years ago for “God Provides.” She and her husband David Mann star in TV One’s The Manns.
The show will include a performance by Keke Wyatt and a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop with DJ Spinderella (Salt-N-Pepa), Monie Love and Doug E. Fresh. The show will also include appearances by Rev. Run (Run DMC, “Run’s House”) and Lamman Rucker (TV One’s Bad Dad Rehab: The Next Session).
LeToya Luckett will host a backstage pass segment featuring interviews with the show’s honorees, performers and presenters.
Urban One Honors is executive produced by Eric Tomosunas and Robert A. Boyd II of Swirl Films. Kim Burse serves as musical director. Marilyn Gill serves as executive producer. Kashon Powell is vice president of programming for Radio One and Susan Henry is executive producer in charge of production for TV One.
For more information, visit TVOne.tv.
The biggest and brightest stars and executives in the R&B and hip-hop world showed out at Billboard Live: R&B/Hip-Hop on Thursday night (Nov. 17) at Academy LA.
Billboard‘s deputy director, R&B/hip-hop Carl Lamarre and executive director, R&B/hip-hop Gail Mitchell started the evening’s festivities by thanking the R&B and hip-hop team, including reporters Neena Rouhani and Heran Mamo, and devoting a moment of silence to Takeoff, PnB Rock, Young Dolph, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle and more rappers who have died in recent years.
Future, who currently stars on Billboard‘s cover, presented the Rookie of the Year award to Blxst, who recently came off a sold-out world tour and earned two 2023 Grammy nominations for album of the year with Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers and best melodic rap performance with “Die Hard” by Lamar featuring himself and Amanda Reifer.
Fellow cover star SZA presented the Executive of the Year award to Tim Hinshaw, head of hip-hop & R&B at Amazon Music, who delivered a heartfelt speech that made sure there wasn’t a dry eye left in the room. And Vibe editor-in-chief Datwon Thomas presented the Rémy Martin x Vibe Impact and Excellence Award to SAINt JHN, which honors a musician who has made tremendous efforts in their community, as well as paving the way for the next generation of artists.
Opener Flo Milli performed songs from her 2020 debut mixtape Ho, Why Is You Here? and her 2022 album You Still Here, Ho? before City Girls took the stage and performed their hits such as “Jobs” and “P–sy Talk.”
Rising Philadelphia phenom Fridayy is in a rare class of hitmakers: the kind with two top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — alongside some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B of the 21st century — both of which were released before he even dropped an EP of his own.
The 25-year-old artist born Francis LeBlanc — a singer, writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist — grew up influenced by both R&B and gospel, with his mighty voice, modern touch, studio proficiency and versatility earning him production credits with Chris Brown and Rae Sremmurd in June. DJ Khaled called his name for an even bigger opportunity soon after, featuring him as a vocalist on his epic God Did title track, a star-studded affair that also included appearances from John Legend, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. The track, which Fridayy also co-produced, earned a No. 17 debut on the Sept. 10-dated Hot 100, marking his first entry on the all-genre songs chart.
But perhaps the biggest look Fridayy has received amid his breakout year came in October with “Forever,” from Lil Baby’s Billboard 200-topping It’s Only Me. The song, which boasts impassioned bars from Lil Baby, is based on a collaboration of Fridayy’s with singer-rapper Vory that the latter posted to Instagram. Upon hearing it, Lil Baby demanded to know who the piercing voice on the clip’s hook belonged to — and after Fridayy elevated its production (with help from Bizness Boi and Fortune), it became an early fan favorite on It’s Only Me, debuting at No. 8 on the Hot 100.
Still riding the momentum from his two spotlight-stealing guest appearances, Fridayy talks with Billboard about the different receptions to those two top 20 hits — as well as his recent debut EP Lost in Melody, released Oct. 21, and what other collaborations are currently in the works.
How did you first get hooked up with Lil Baby?
It was actually through an artist named Vory. The song was originally me and Vory — I was on the hook and Vory was on the verses — and Vory posted it on Instagram. And then Lil Baby hit up Vory, like, “Who’s singing on the hook?” And then Vory was like, “That’s Fridayy.” And Lil Baby was like, “Man, I need that hook.” That’s how it came about: Vory showed love and helped me out on that part.
Had you ever gotten in contact with Lil Baby before? Did you have any kind of relationship with him?
Nah, I talked to him after, though. He FaceTimed me and all that, we talked. And then we was just choppin’ it up about the record.
At first, when I produced it, it was just piano. And then when I got on the phone with him, he was like, “Bro, I need like a beat.” He said it was so crazy, he forgot it ain’t had no beat! So I was like, “Bro, I’mma add the beat for you. And I’mma send it back to you tonight.” So I called my brothers Bizness Boi and Fortune — two producers that produced on it with me — and we got that right.
Did he give you any kind of instruction on what he wanted it to sound like, or did you just take it from what was already there on the song?
Yeah, at first I sent him like a couple ideas. But it was similar to, like, trap drums. But when I sent him it, he was like, “Bro, I want it more simple. You know what I mean? I don’t want too much going on.” So he kinda explained it to me how he wanted it, when it was like, a kick and a snare — just some simple vibes, not too much hi-hats. Once he told me that, we got it in the first try.
Had you been a fan of Lil Baby’s before this?
Of course. Like, that My Turn album? Even before that! I had been listening to Baby for a minute, since 2017, around “My Dawg,” around like “Freestyle” days. He one of them rappers today that like everybody look up to — my little cousin, my brothers look up to [him], you know what I mean? So that’s crazy to me.
How does being on a song with Lil Baby compare to being on a song with legends like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and Rick Ross?
That’s a great question right there, bro. It’s like — the Jay-Z record, it was cool, it was great. Them the legends. But that one was more of, like, icon music-wise. And then Lil Baby one was like… for now. ‘Cause my little cousins are not listening to “God Did” every day. But the Lil Baby one? It opened me up to the youth.
Do you feel like those two songs prepared audiences for what to expect with you with your solo stuff? Or do you feel like that’s more just one side to you and there’s a lot more of you still to come on the EP and whatever else follows?
No, I feel like it was a good balance. Because “God Did” is really like a part of who I am. Even if you listen to the song, you hear the choirs, you hear the three-part harmony, you hear the piano. And if you listen to my EP, that’s how I’m coming on: with piano, choirs [and] soulful notes. So “God Did” was definitely like the perfect introduction to me. And “Forever” was like the perfect introduction to me, too. Just to show that side, with like the females and all that. Which, I got like two records [like that] on my EP.
How has the reaction been to the EP so far? Are you happy with the sort of response you’ve gotten to it?
Man, bro. I ain’t even have no expectations for my EP… So when I woke up the next day [after releasing it], I’m like, “Lemme just check the charts.” I’m thinking maybe I’d be like No. 199 R&B — like, late, late in the joint. I woke up, we was like No. 30 R&B on iTunes! I’m like… the f–k? And the sh-t kept going up! Right now, we at No. 11 R&B on iTunes! It went up to 7! Right now it’s sitting at 11.
But just to see my album next to SZA, next to The Weeknd, next to Summer Walker… it’s like, “damn!” I just look it at every day, like, “What the f–k?”
What is up next for you? Do you have any singles, any features, maybe an album coming?
Yeah, you already know. We working on the next project. We don’t know if it’s an album or an EP, but I’m already working on that. And I’m producing for a lot of [people in] the industry. I got two songs on Lil Tjay’s project coming out. I just produced a track on G Herbo’s album that just came out. You know, I’m still producing and writing for a lot of people. And then, it’s like, a lot of features coming, too. Just expect a lot of Fridayy features, for sure.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.