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Usher has an early Christmas present for his fans and for ARMY. Bit Hit Music announced on Tuesday that Usher will hop on a remix of BTS member Jung Kook‘s “Standing Next to You,” which is due out on Friday (Dec. 1). “We are pleased to announce the release of the remix version of ‘Standing […]
Foo Fighters had so much fun jamming with H.E.R. on Saturday Night Live last month that they’re releasing a quick-turnaround joint single. The band announced on Tuesday (Nov. 14) that they’re each releasing their versions of the song they performed on the show, “The Glass,” on Friday (Nov. 17). The double A-side single of the […]
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds once said, “Lyrics can be important, but ultimately what pulls people in on a song is melody and the tracks, and the way music feels.”
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He was right.
Think back to the last great song or album that immediately grabbed you. Sure, some lyrics may stand out and run constantly in your mind like the SportsCenter news ticker, but chances are it’s the production and melody that burrowed deep into your temporal lobe and made themselves comfortable.
At least that’s what happened when most people listened to Brent Faiyaz’s new full-length project, Larger Than Life, for the first time. While Faiyaz’s usual stoical splendor was on full display, it was the production that caught everyone by surprise. You’d be forgiven for hearing the mixtape’s first track, “Tim’s Intro,” and thinking Timbaland blessed the indie superstar with one of his vintage space funk productions. After all, the Virginia legend is on the track talking and beatboxing and the beat sounds like something he would have given Aaliyah over 20 years ago. Also, his name is in the title. Same goes with track #2, “Last One,” which features Timbo’s longtime collaborator Missy Elliott. But nope. Both beats are courtesy of David Patino, better known as D-Pat.
Born and raised in Houston, D-Pat taught himself how to make beats in college and then lucked into landing a dream placement with a then-ascendant The Weeknd. From there he linked with two like-minded musicians—Faiyaz and producer Atu—and formed the group Sonder. Although the group only dropped one official project, the EP Into back in 2017, D-Pat would help Faiyaz craft his debut album, Sonder Son. And, after being mysteriously absent from Faiyaz’s sophomore effort, D-Pat returned to anchor Larger Than Life—Faiyaz’s first project under his partnership with UnitedMasters and his new ISO Supremacy label. Producing eight of the mixtape’s 12 songs (two tracks are skits), D-Pat laid the foundation of the album’s referential but modern sound.
Billboard caught up with D-Pat right after the mixtape’s release on October 27th to talk about how the two first started working together, his ability to manifest his success, and what it’s like producing for one of your musical idols.
Before we get to the new album, how did you and Brent first start working together?
Well, I started out as a solo beatmaker. There was a movement, I’m not sure if you know, it was called Selection. Which was basically DJs and producers. It was a collective. And I got tapped into that crowd, even though I was still living in Houston. I would come out to LA for some shows sometimes. And I met another producer named Atu, who was also Selection affiliated. I was going to do a show with Atu so I went to [his] place. We were preparing for a DJ set or something and he randomly put on a SoundCloud when Brent’s songs came up. As soon as it started—I think he only had two or three songs out at the time, this was 2015—and we heard his voice, we were like, Whoa, who is this? I’m not saying we were big or anything, but we had some followers. He agreed to meet with us and we just had a couple sessions. The three of us were on the same page sonically and [with] our influences. We weren’t even anticipating making a group or anything as the three of us started Sonder. The chemistry was so strong from the first time, it was inevitable in a way.
I had no idea that’s how Sonder started
It was a SoundCloud algorithm. So shout out to that.
Looking back, how would you describe Sonder?
It’s funny. It was a side project for us all. We were all solo artists, and this was just a one-off project to see what happens. And when it started taking off, it came as a surprise, especially to Atu and I. But what’s funny is Brent knew what it was going to be the whole time. I remember we made the project in Orlando, which is where Atu was living at the time; he was going to school up there. Since I’ve known Brent, he’s the most confident person I’ve ever known in my life. I remember we hadn’t even made a song and he was like, “Yo, we’re about to shift music. We’re about to move the needle; have so many fans. All these people are going to be on our wave.” And I’m like, Okay, can we make one song? We hadn’t even done anything, and he was already saying all these grandiose things that we were going to do. And I can see now, looking back, he was just manifesting it.
And how did you get into producing?
I used to be a skater kid, and then I broke my arm. During that time, I started picking up the guitar. That’s really how it started. My dad had a guitar at the house and he would always play it, but he only knew three chords, and he would play every song to the same three chords, which is hilarious. I love that for him. But, yeah, I taught myself [guitar], which transitioned into me learning piano. I was in a high school band, and then later on when I went to college I had an electric guitar, but I couldn’t really play that in my dorm. So that transitioned into me making beats. I was very inspired by Kanye, 9th Wonder, [J] Dilla, so my sound was chipmunk-pitched up soul samples. I think everyone starts that way [Laughs].
I guess what got me into Beats, too, was I heard [Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s 1998] Black Star album. Those beats just blew me away. I hadn’t really, I guess, appreciated hip-hop until I heard that, which led me to A Tribe Called Quest and all the classic hip-hop stuff. That’s really what drove me to start to make beats.Interesting.
I have the craziest story. I started making beats [in 2011], and that was the year that The Weeknd came out. And I remember being such a big fan of The Weeknd. He was so mysterious—no one could reach out, talk to him, nothing. And, somehow, I started talking to him and I got a placement with him. I had only been making beats for a year. It was insane.
Wait. What? How did you start talking to him?
I used to have a Tumblr, because Tumblr was a thing back then, and I made a beat tape. Somehow, someone in his camp heard it and they reached out to me and they were like, “[Send] 10 beats to the Weeknd.” And I was such a huge fan. I was like, Holy shit! It’s crazy.
Wow. I can’t believe you got connected with The Weekend via Tumblr.
It’s really weird. I manifested it and I don’t know how. But ever since then, it feels like I can just manifest anything I want. It’s really weird.
That is a crazy story.
I remember I just sent him a beat and I sampled “Tell Me Do You Wanna” by Ginuwine. And he was so gassed on me, and it was just so funny because I didn’t know what I was doing back then. And I made that beat on Garage Band, which is even more funny to me.
That was “Remember You” on Wiz Khalifa’s ONIFC album, right?
Yeah. And then that became the single. Then it got Grammy nominated. And I’m like, Bro, I don’t know what I’m doing [Laughs]. I actually had the biggest imposter syndrome ever. The craziest thing is that I sampled Ginuwine. I don’t know why. It’s just crazy. Who knew years later I would be bringing that sound back in a way with Brent?
D-Pat
Listening to the intro on Larger Than Life, I thought, “Wow this is the best Timbo beat I’ve heard in a while.” Did you make that beat to sound like him or was it just a coincidence that it aligned that way?
That’s a good question. I’m just a student of music of all genres, and I’m a chameleon. I can reverse engineer or recreate anything, any genre. Obviously, we’re already fans of that sound. We did a studio lock-in for this album. [It] was basically a studio in a hotel that Brent booked for a week straight. So, it was just wake up, [go to the] studio until ungodly hours, go to sleep, wake up, studio. On the sixth day of this lock-in, Brent was like, “Oh, Timbaland’s coming to the studio and I want him to be talking on an intro.” I was like, okay, cool, let me make a beat. In my head, I’m thinking, What could be cool for Timbaland to talk on? All of us [grew] up listening to Timbo talk his shit, beatboxing, the ad-libs—they’re just so iconic. And so, in my mind, I’m like I want this to be a statement.
Since it’s the opener of the album, I wanted it to hit hard. And the whole approach of this album, which I’m sure people can tell by now, is that Brent wanted it to sound like a mixtape. So that’s why there’s all the producer tags, the air horns; it’s very sample heavy. It’s all intentional. But, yeah, I wanted it to be an impactful intro. If Timbaland’s about to be talking on my beat, I felt like I had to deliver production-wise. He’s such a legend. That moment was the culmination of everything, my whole past: what I told you about sampling Ginuwine how many years prior, the Sonder ep, everything we’ve done. I’m like, okay, Timbaland’s about to come. This is everything I’ve learned. And then I made the beat in 15 minutes. I showed it to Brent and he was like, “Yeah, this is it.” And then Timberland came in and it was the most surreal full-circle moment for Brent and I. We were kind of speechless. As soon as Timbaland heard the beats, he was in awe.
I was wondering what his reaction was to hearing that beat.
It’s funny because it could go either way. He could be like, Wait, they’re just taking it, or whatever. But he had the utmost respect, and he was like, “I honestly feel like I’m 18 again right now in the basement with Ginuwine, Aaliyah, Missy.” You could see it in his eyes that he was just very humbled, appreciative. And I think he’s just a fan of Brent. It almost felt like a passing of the torch moment. He called Brent and he’s like, “You’re like the next Static.” And then he looked at me and he’s like, “This sounds exactly like me.” It was just a surreal moment for not only Brent and I, but for him. It was a mutual thing.
There’s no better compliment than that.
That’s my favorite studio moment of all time. And after he left, the energy of the studio was insane. There were like 50 people in there going crazy.
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In what order were all of the songs made?
The project started last December, I would say. We went to Tulum with no expectations, just for Brent and I to make songs. But that was where the first song was made, which was “Pistachios.” A majority of the project, honestly, was made [during] that one week at lock-in with a couple made throughout the year. But the majority were made in that lock-in. I’ve never seen anything like that. [Brent] was writing one, two songs every day. It was actually insane.
Can you talk about “Best Time”?
Yeah. The whole project is an homage to our musical predecessors in a sense, since it’s a mixtape. Brent really wanted to shine a light on who he’s inspired by, his influences, and stuff we grew up on. It’s just paying our respects to our pioneers, the trailblazers. We actually had sessions with Chad [Hugo]. I know Brent has songs with the Neptunes, but that was my first time meeting Chad. It was earlier this year and I was very appreciative.
So for “Best Time,” is that “Caught Out There”?
Yeah. We used the melody from Kelis’s song “Caught Out There,” and then I just made new drums for it. Kind of like a different bounce, but it’s still Neptunes flavored.
It’s interesting that “Pistachios” was the first song you guys made. Did that set the tone for everything going forward?
I really like pistachios. That might be my favorite [on the album]. It started with Brent wanting to flip the Adina Howard song that we sampled on that, “If We Make Love Tonight.” Maybe from there that kind of subconsciously set the mood of being a sample-heavy album or with a mixtape approach. I think that did set the tone. A lot of the samples were Brent wanting to use them. The Rome sample on “Belong to You,” [for example]. I’ve just been working with Brent for so long, we both know what each other wants. If he sends a song he wants to flip, we both reach the finish point without saying too much.
So what’s next?
Well, right now I’m working on a trilogy of solo projects, just instrumentals and stuff like that, which I had been doing before Sonder. I know Timbaland had his own albums but they always were feature heavy. I thought it’d be interesting to see (should it be here?) just instrumental albums, and that’s stuff I love as well, so I’ve been working on that. And this album release has me inspired to work on full albums for other artists. I really like how Timbaland would produce all of Missy’s album or all of Ginuwine’s, Aaliyah’s, Justin Timberlake’s. Or even the Neptunes would do that, you know? I would really be interested in doing that. I don’t really have any artists in mind, but I would love to help. It doesn’t necessarily mean I have to produce every track, but just help craft and develop. An entire album feels more fulfilling to me than getting one track on [someone’s] next album.
Frank Ocean‘s resting pulse for most of his career has been elusiveness. The singer who has never followed any of the traditional music industry rules releases music, or not, on his own, often erratic schedule, typically with no advance notice and with little commentary.
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Which is why it was no surprise that his latest musical missive arrived with no fanfare in his Instagram Story on Wednesday (Nov. 8) in the form of a minute-long, unnamed moody track. In audio captured here, Ocean can be heard crooning in his hazy manner over a droning keyboard, with the lyrics coming through only in brief, intelligible bits as the words often slide together in a blur.
“Way more laid back than I did when I was my younger [unintelligible]/ … assumptions but they were educated guesses/ that’s why I … trying to see all your sides/ but your heart’s been tangled in barbed wires/ If you hand it to me, I can’t handle it,” he sings. “You got boundaries, but they’re just obstacles you’re putting in between us/ Pick and choose but we both got options.”
The rest of the lyrics that appear to be about love confusion are hard to decipher, but fans were typically psyched to get anything new from Ocean, who has not issued any new music since he surprise-dropped two singles, “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in 2020, which was followed by a never-released untitled nine-minute song on the Christmas special on his Apple Music 1 Blonded Radio show in December 2021. Ocean has not released a proper album since 2016’s Blonde.
At press time no additional information was available about the song or whether it will be officially released.
Ocean once again receded from public view after his confusion, glitchy appearance at the Coachella Festival in April, which was his first public show since 2017. During the headlining set that began an hour late, Ocean didn’t perform any new songs (but did play radically reworked versions of his familiar tracks), was sometimes hard to spot on the cavernous stage and then was was cut off due to curfew, which ended the set whose livestream on the festival’s official YouTube broadcast was scrapped at the last minute.
It later emerged that Ocean reportedly performed with a serious ankle injury and that his planned elaborate stage set-up — which was to feature a giant ice rink and professional hockey players and olympic skaters doing choreography during the show — was scrapped at the 11th hour after weeks of rehearsals; Ocean later dropped out of a planned second weekend headlining slot due to the injury, costing the festival millions of dollars.
In classic Ocean fashion, he peeked back out in June with the announcement of his 48-page Mutations photo book, which a release said would be printed on “tissue-weight paper.”
Zayn Malik will pull triple-duty in the upcoming animated feature 10 Lives, for which he will write new music and perform a duet with Bridgerton star Simone Ashley. Variety reported that Malik and Ashley will both star in the film, in which the singer will play play “tough-guy twins Cameron and Kirk,” with Ashley voicing […]
In February, during a writing camp in Palm Springs, Calif., singer-songwriter Teddy Swims had a professional breakthrough — amid a period of personal turmoil, following a breakup. “I was so unhinged at the time,” he remembers. “I just needed to say a lot of stuff.” Over the course of five days, he poured his emotions into half of the songs that would ultimately comprise his debut album, including his biggest hit to date, “Lose Control.”
Rooted in piano-driven production — and an impressive ability to stretch his vocal runs — the R&B-pop ballad details a relationship that’s been tainted by substance abuse. “Lose Control” has steadily grown since its release in late June, leading to Teddy Swims’ first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. “When it was finished, I was showing everybody before the song came out,” he says. “I just felt that energy, like, ‘This is lighting in a bottle.’ I knew this was going to change my life.”
Born Jaten Dimsdale, the 31-year-old began performing a decade ago at his suburban Atlanta high school, trading football for musical theater (he joined with a friend, who still plays guitar in his live band today). His senior year was particularly pivotal: he helped the theater department out of debt prior to graduation with an in-school production of a Star Wars musical parody he created with his teacher. That same year, his band at the time, Heroic Bear, released its first EP, a hardcore project he now deems “really bad.”
In the years that followed, he explored countless genres including country, alternative, funk and metal in various musical projects. “He was in, I kid you not, like eight bands,” says Luke Conway, who started managing Teddy Swims while he was touring as an opening hip-hop act in early 2019. “He was doing every single thing that you could possibly do.”
From left: Teddy Swims and manager Luke Conway photographed on September 15, 2023 in New York.
Meredith Jenks
In June 2019, on the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, Teddy Swims uploaded a YouTube cover of “Rock With You” that soon went viral. The success prompted him to ask his friends for a six-month commitment to help him keep momentum. During that time frame, he sang classics (Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me”) and hits of the moment (Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved”) alike, with his spins on Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” and Mario’s “Let Me Love You” each eclipsing 100 million YouTube views. Publishers called first, then booking agencies, and before long, a dozen record labels had made offers. On Christmas Eve 2019 — a day short of six months from when he uploaded “Rock With You” — he signed to Warner Records.
While the covers helped grow Teddy Swims’ audience on a global scale, his priority upon signing was to create an identity all his own. “Some people get stuck in that world and never really make it out,” he says. “There was a lot of fear in no one caring about my [original] songs. I wanted to be an artist with my music.”
Warner placed him in rooms with veteran songwriter-producers like Julian Bunetta and John Ryan to help him hone his voice, and over the next few years, he wrote hundreds of songs, releasing singles across four EPs (including the holiday-themed A Very Teddy Christmas) and getting featured on tracks by Meghan Trainor, X Ambassadors and others. “I go back and listen to some songs that I did four years ago,” Teddy Swims reflects. “They started this idea of the signature Teddy sound that I feel like I’m finally nailing now.”
Teddy Swims photographed on September 15, 2023 in New York.
Meredith Jenks
That “signature” sound punctuates his September debut album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1), which is full of “sad boy breakup songs,” as he puts it. His powerhouse vocals (“Some Things I’ll Never Know,” “The Door”) and poignant writing chops (“Suitcase”) are on display throughout its 10 tracks, but no song better illustrates the style he’s created than “Lose Control.” After its June release, he shared three new versions — live, strings and piano — as the song gained steam on digital service providers and radio. By the end of August, “Lose Control” debuted on the Hot 100, where it has since reached a No. 67 peak. On Adult Pop Airplay, it climbs to a new No. 26 high on the Oct. 7-dated chart.
As the hit keeps growing, Conway says the strategy isn’t to strike while the iron is hot with unrelated follow-up content. In fact, it’s the opposite: he hopes the song becomes “cemented in culture” in the months to come, likening “Lose Control” to Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.”
“We have to be protective,” he says. “It’s his story. This is the golden egg we’ve been searching for and fighting to dig out of the ground for five years. There have been a lot of conversations about finding a feature, but we see the lifespan of this song. We can’t dilute it by giving it anybody else’s identity.”
Teddy Swims is currently on a 43-date North American tour in support of the project, studying how each city reacts to the new material. “There’s no A&R that [compares to] when you’re at a show and you see what really moves people,” he says. As the title of his album suggests, there are plans for another installment. He says it could arrive by the middle of next year, though both he and Conway share that the writing likely won’t begin until after the tour wraps.
However, Teddy Swims does suggest that, if all goes well, the follow-up will contain brighter content. “I’m really hoping the next time is me falling back in love and moving on,” he says, taking a beat and then laughing. “Or it’s more sad s–t. You never know. Life is happening to us, what are you going to do?”
Teddy Swims photographed on September 15, 2023 in New York.
Meredith Jenks
A version of this story will appear in the Oct. 7, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Beyoncé is going to the movies. The singer debuted the trailer for her upcoming concert documentary, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, on Sunday night (Oct. 1) during the final stop on her Renaissance World Tour in Kansas City, MO.
“When I am performing, I am nothing but free,” Bey says in voiceover at the outset of the two-minute trailer. The clip opens with the singer casually walking to stage while flashing a peace sign, stretching pre-show with her kids — including rehearsing with back up dancer/eldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter — and having a cocktail in the green room.
The two hour and thirty minute unrated film is due to hit screens in the U.S., Canada and Mexico on Dec. 1, with more global dates to be announced later. The singer captioned an Instagram post featuring the trailer with the cheeky warning, “Be careful what you ask for, ’cause I just might comply.”
The official description of the movie says that it: “accentuates the journey of RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR,, from its inception, to the opening in Stockholm, Sweden, to the finale in Kansas City, Missouri. It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mind and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft. Received with extraordinary acclaim by International and U.S. media alike, Beyoncé’s outstanding performance during Renaissance World Tour created a sanctuary for freedom, acceptance, and shared joy. Its maximalist production welcomed more than 2.7 million fans from around the world, who travelled across oceans to enjoy Club Renaissance. Now, millions of moviegoers will get caught up in the Joy Parade, the monumental dance party that celebrates everyone’s right to be themselves, close to home.”
The trailer hints at the joy, hard work and glamour of life on the road with Bey, from shots of her wearing a surgical mask while looking ill, to one in which the singer struts in a leather designer outfit to a waiting helicopter while explaining, “my goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free… and no one is judged.” Husband and No. 1 fan, Jay-Z, makes a cameo as well, pumping his fist and smiling from the crowd amid glimpses of the massive stage production, mind-bending costume and lighting effects and the couple’s twins, Rumi and Sir.
The Renaissance tour is Beyoncé’s biggest to date, with grosses expected to cross the $550 million mark. Tickets for the movie — priced at $22 — are on sale now, with Deadline reporting that AMC is releasing the film in partnership with Beyoncé’s film production company and record label, Parkwood Entertainment. Like Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour concert film, AMC will run the Renaissance movie on the weekends (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for at least four weeks.
Bey’s movie follows on the heels of her 2019 Netflix doc Homecoming, which chronicled the singer’s 2018 Coachella headlining set, as well as her 2013 HBO movie, Life Is But a Dream, a hybrid live performance and video diary project, and her 2009 I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas.
Watch the trailer below.
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Usher is likely to use the world’s biggest stage at Super Bowl LVIII in February to promote his first major tour in nearly a decade and become the first act to launch a tour from the big game in seven years, sources tell Billboard.
Following the NFL’s announcement Sunday that the R&B icon will take over Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 as the game’s halftime show performer, sources say Usher’s team has been busy placing holds on arenas around the world. That same team is expected to spend the next four-and-a-half months routing, confirming and finalizing a 2024 global tour that sources expect will be ready to go on sale moments after he steps off the stage.
Over the past two years, Usher has made a home on the Las Vegas Strip with two residencies at the The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and Dolby Live at Park MGM (for Usher: The Las Vegas Residency and My Way: The Vegas Residency, respectively). Combined, his residencies have earned $83 million and sold 374,000 tickets from 79 shows, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, and Billboard estimates that his Vegas earnings should exceed $100 million by early December. That’s more than any of Usher’s prior tours, topping 2010-11’s OMG Tour, which brought in $76 million — and coincidentally lined up with the singer’s previous Super Bowl halftime appearance, when he made a cameo during The Black Eyed Peas’ 2011 set. His last major tour was 2014–15’s The UR Experience Tour.
Usher will also use the halftime show as a platform to launch a new album release. The Atlanta superstar will drop his ninth studio album and his first since 2016, called Coming Home, on the same day as the Super Bowl. Last year, more than 115 million people tuned in for the Super Bowl, according to the NFL, showing viewership of the annual championship game continues to grow even as more Americans “cut the cord” with their cable providers and seek out digital streaming alternatives. Despite the increase in eyeballs, the number of artists making tour announcements or adjustments have dropped dramatically.
It has been seven years since an artist took advantage of Super Bowl halftime show’s massive viewership to announce a new tour — the last was Lady Gaga in 2017. The reason for that is likely two-fold. First, there are more artists touring than ever before, making it difficult for artists to time their touring plans and album cycles around a February announcement date, especially when halftime performers aren’t typically announced until September. The second change was a new partnership with Jay-Z and Roc Nation in 2019 to curate and book the halftime show, which has favored collaborative spectacles over single artist promotion with performances by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez at the 2020 Super Bowl and Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar at the 2022 Super Bowl.
Looking at the last five Super Bowl halftime shows, from 2018 to 2022, only two were linked to tour announcements: In 2018, Justin Timberlake, announced additional dates for his Man of the Woods Tour including second American leg for Man of the Woods following his Super Bowl LII halftime performance at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. And, in 2021, The Weeknd announced the long-awaited rescheduled dates for his After Hours Tour along with 39 new shows in North America and Europe after his Super Bowl performance. (Eight months later, those rescheduled dates were cancelled a second time, and the tour was upgraded to stadiums for summer 2022.)
The preceding five-year period, 2017-2013, was far busier — four out of five of the halftime shows from this period were linked to major tour announcements.
The last artist to announce a tour immediately following their performance at the Super Bowl was Lady Gaga in 2017. The singer began her remarkable set by descending from the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium onto an on-field stage to perform “Just Dance,” “Bad Romance,” “Poker Face”. After her show wrapped, a post on her Twitter account teased out a world tour, and then hours later a follow-up tweet directed fans to website where fans could buy tickets. Coldplay’s halftime performance in 2016 led to two major tour announcements: one for the band’s Head Full of Dreams Tour and another for their halftime co-star Beyoncé’s Formation Tour. Beyonce also announced The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour following 2013 Super Bowl performance, while Bruno Mars announced new dates for his Moonshine Jungle Tour following his 2014 halftime show performance in 2014.
Additional reporting by Eric Frankenberg.
Beyoncé fan Jon Hetherington posted a video last week in which he lamented that he would not be able to achieve a lifelong dream of seeing Queen Bey in concert in Seattle at Lumen Field because he said the airline he was flying on was unable to accommodate his wheelchair. In a TikTok video, Oregon native Hetherington said he got the airport and was told by the unnamed airline that his chair was four inches too tall to be loaded onto the plane.
“They checked every possible flight, every airline, and nothing is available. So after 25 years of waiting, I’m not seeing Beyonce tonight. So ableism strikes again,” he lamented in the video that went viral and racked up more than 360,000 likes and 1,500 comments.
He was quickly flooded by comments from the Bey Hive, with some offering to give him their tickets for upcoming shows, and many others tagging Beyoncé, her Parkwood Entertainment management company and Columbia Records. “I’ve waited so f–king long for this,” Hetherington said in a follow-up video in which he said was demoralized, frustrated and sad about missing the show; two weeks earlier he said he was left stranded in Seattle for hours after a Janelle Monáe show because he could not find an accessible taxi in Seattle.
The groundswell of support and offers of help for the Oregon native turned into a dream come true on Thursday night (Sept. 21) when Hetherington, 34 — who has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair — was able to attend Bey’s Renaissance tour date at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX after a member of the singer’s team reached out to him, according to the New York Times; at press time a spokesperson for Beyoncé could not be reached for confirmation of the report.
The Times reported that Bey’s team arranged for a new flight and after the show Hetherington reported that not only did his dream come true, but he met Beyoncé’s mom — Tina Knowles-Lawson — as well as the singer herself. “Beyhive, you made this happen, you pushed and tagged like the internet has never seen. Tonight, for the first time ever, I had a seat on the floor for a concert. Welcome to the RENAISSANCE,” he wrote alongside a shot of him awaiting the beginning of the concert.
In a second photo, next to a smiling Knowles-Lawson, Hetherington was elated about his magical night and told his followers that he planned to keep the special words Beyoncé shared to himself. “There is much that I will say in the coming days about what tonight means to me. There are some things I’ll keep for myself. Truly an honor to meet you, @mstinaknowles! Thank you for all that you’ve done and given the world. We’re so grateful,” he said.
“To the Queen herself, @beyonce, I will treasure those words you said and the hugs you gave,” he added. “I meant every word I said. No, for anyone and everyone reading this, I will not ever share with you what was said to me, don’t even try it. That moment is between the two of us.”
See Hetherington’s posts below.
After 25 years in the music industry, Mýa is showing no signs of slowing down. The pop-R&B star made her debut in 1998, when she put out her self-titled studio album via Interscope Records. The debut single from the album, “It’s All About Me” with Sisqó, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and put the world onto Mýa’s sultry, angelic voice and cutting-edge R&B sound that infiltrated the mainstream pop market while drawing influences from hip-hop, dancehall, techno and more.
She revealed in a new interview with Billboard News that the outfit she wore in the “It’s All About Me” music video, which was inspired by the traditional red Chinese wedding dress, is her all-time favorite look. “I sketched that outfit on paper, drew the designs that I wanted and I saw it come to life,” she said. “But this is something that I’ve been doing for years. I have this whole sketchbook of outfits that I wanted to create before I signed my first deal. And so, that was one of them. The seamstress brought it to life, and that was an amazing experience for me as a brand new artist.”
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In June, she re-created the UNC jersey dress from her 2000 “Best of Me (Part 2)” video, featuring Jay-Z, while she was performing at Charlotte R&B Music Experience. (This reporter also re-created the UNC jersey dress look, as well as Mýa’s outfit from the 1999 “Take Me There” video with Blackstreet, Mase and Blinky Blink, due to endless claims that she resembles the singer. Decide for yourself in the video interview above!)
Aside from her iconic looks, pop-dancehall collaborations have been another constant in Mýa’s storied career. Over the years, she’s worked with Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists like Beenie Man (“Girls Dem Sugar,” “Lie Detector,” “Docta”), Sean Paul (“Things Come & Go”), Spice (“Take Him Out”) and, most recently, Bounty Killer, on her latest steamy single “Whine.”
“Funny story is I had a solo version of the video shot two years prior to reaching out to Bounty Killer,” she says. “And I’ve always wanted a feature on that record. And so we went back down to Jamaica two years later, to the same location, and put Bounty Killer in the video, inserted him, and it all looks cohesive now.”
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Of her pop-dancehall collaborations, Mýa says they feel like a family effort. “Every time I go down there, it’s usually for music. But then my associates, music friends, become like family over the years. We understand the beauty of independency but also working together. And so, that’s a big part of the culture, too,” she explains. “I think it’s important also to just be authentic for representation, so it was important for me to be in Kingston, in the heart of Jamaica, to capture the essence of the good vibes and the music, the culture and the people and the dance.”
Outside of her debut LP’s 25th anniversary this year, Mýa also celebrated the 20th anniversary of her third album Moodring, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned her another Hot 100 top 20 hit with “My Love is Like…Wo.” (Missy Elliott co-produced the track two years after working with her on the five-week No. 1, Grammy-winning smash “Lady Marmalade” with Christina Aguilera, P!nk and Lil’ Kim from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack.)
Earlier this year, she collaborated with Interscope/UMe to release the digital deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Mya, the digital deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Moodring and the “25th Anniversary Remix” of “It’s All About Me,” accompanied by the Brian Friedman-directed choreography video. Come December, Mýa will ring in the 15th anniversary of her fifth album Sugar & Spice.
“I was a baby, I was a kid, everything was brand new. Working in the studio with Dru Hill for the first album was really like a family and a camp, so I had big brothers around me … I learned a lot from them, watching them,” she reflects. “It’s just a beautiful journey. I’m excited as well about what’s to come. I just love music, so it’s a blessing to just still be here 25 years later and still feel like it’s brand new.”
Watch the full video interview above.
