tv
The Final Jeopardy clue on Jeopardy! on Wednesday (May 7) seemed to be way too easy, but not one of the contestants got it right. The category was The Grammys. The clue: “Best New Artists at the 7th Annual Grammys, this band would be nominated the next six years, but not again until the 39th and 67th events.”
The champion wrote down “Who is the Marine Marching Band,” which was incorrect. The ensemble has never even been nominated for a Grammy.
A challenger wrote down “Springsteen,” which ignored a key part of the clue that it was a “band.” And while Bruce Springsteen has been recording for more than 50 years, the clues indicated a 60-year span of Grammy ceremonies. The Boss hasn’t been around quite that long.
Trending on Billboard
The second challenger, you figure, has to get it right. He wrote “The Rolling Stones.” As host Ken Jennings pointed out, that was closer, but still not right. To the Grammys’ eternal shame, The Rolling Stones weren’t even nominated for a Grammy until the 1979 ceremony, when they were up for album of the year for Some Girls. And they don’t satisfy another part of the clue, either: They have never been nominated more than two years in a row. But they did win best rock album earlier this year for Hackney Diamonds.
The correct answer, of course, is The Beatles. They won best new artist at the 1965 ceremony, were nominated every year from 1966-1971, and then were nominated again in 1997 (when they won a total of three Grammys for The Beatles Anthology and “Free as a Bird”) and earlier this year (when they won best rock performance for “Now and Then”).
If the contestants had just muttered “Help!” when they saw the clue, and realized they were in trouble, that might have led them to the correct question.
OK, so, these three contestants were not Grammy experts, and perhaps not die-hard Beatles fans. Still, they did very well in other categories during the two rounds of play. This just goes to show that we all have our strong suits and other areas were we draw a blank.
Like gladiators entering the arena, 62 aspiring American Idol contestants survived the first round of Hollywood Week only to run into the buzzsaw of Sunday night’s (April 6) Showstopper rounds. Performing live for the first time in front of an audience at the Orpheum Theatre, as judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie worked to trim 38 aspiring stars from the roster, the singers had to turn things up a notch to make the cut.
In the end four made the first cut.
Gabby Samone wowed the room with her passionate, jazzy cover of Nina Simone’s “Four Women,” which showed off her towering range and emotional maturity on the powerful 1966 anthem that tracks four Black women’s journey from slavery to the present. “My skin is black/ My arms are long/ My hair is wooly/ My back is strong,” Samone sang over subtle piano accompaniment before climbing into a crystal-clear high note that had Richie up on his feet in amazement.
Trending on Billboard
The youngest singer in the competition, Eagleville, TN’s Mattie Pruitt, has rolled through the competition so far despite saying in her opening package that she sometimes has had trouble finding her place in a family with 12 siblings. Though feelings of self-doubt continue to creep in — “I’m not pretty enough, I’m not good at singing” — the high schooler said the Idol stage is the first time she’s felt truly comfortable in her skin.
She proved she belongs in the mix with a cover of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World,” making the 1966 soul classic her own by slowing it down to a funky stroll and luxuriating in the notes like a seasoned pro used to having crowds in the palm of her hand.
Another early favorite, 17-year-old aspiring preacher Canaan James Hill, also proved that age ain’t nothin’ but a number with his roof-raising cover of Marvin Sapp’s “Never Would Have Made It.” The teen poured some Al Green grit on the gospel great’s 2007 ballad, again inspiring Richie to hop up and testify to some powerful vocals. “Go on man, go on do what you gotta do!” Richie said, shaking his head in wonder, with Bryan saying “he is one of the best singers I have ever seen!”
The last of the four to make it through was Zaylie Windsor, who squeaked by in an earlier round, only to prove that she’d definitely earned her spot with a mesmerizing cover of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever.” The Radiohead-like acoustic take featured Windsor’s emotional vocals, climbing from a near whisper to a roar, filling the theater with ecstatic joy as she wailed the final notes. “Welcome to the Zaylie show!” Underwood said afterwards.
While those four made the cut and will go to the top 24, Jmarie, Will Carter, Santina Madden, Isaiah Moore, Samantha Ray and Jazzy Mae were sent home and the remaining 42 singers will have to fight it out on Monday night (April 7) in head-to-head rounds; that round airs at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Check out the four performances below.
Elton John is good at a great many things. But on Thursday night (April 4), the pop superstar found out that one thing he has not quite mastered is the art of the late night game show. Appearing on The Tonight Show with his longtime friend and Who Believes in Angels? collaborator Brandi Carlile, John, 78, was paired up with host Jimmy Fallon for a game of “Password” against Carlile and Sinners star Hailee Steinfeld.
Things started off easy enough with Fallon and Carlile pulling a card reading “Grass,” which prompted John to guess “marijuana.” Brandi went with “greener,” which stumped her partner, who guessed “plant.” Fallon pivoted to “mow,” which made John crack up at the thought of doing lawn work himself. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer quickly put it together, thought, and correctly guessed the answer.
Trending on Billboard
That’s when things went sideways. When it was John’s turn to give Fallon a clue for “Sunday,” he waited patiently as Steinfeld offered up “Saturday” and a gentle nod toward the next day to Carlile, who could only hazard a guess at “night.” John then looked at his card, cockily shook his head and said, “Sunday!” Game host Steve Higgins cracked up, gently reminding the rock icon that he can’t actually say the clue out loud.
As The Roots busted out a sad trombone, John looked embarrassed, but quickly joined the laughter at his slip-up, clarifying that what he meant to say was “weekend.”
And to think the night had started off on such a high note. After his monologue, Fallon moved over to his desk to tee-up the duo’s appearance later in the show and just couldn’t help himself in enthusing about John’s deep catalog of hits. That inspired Jimmy to start reading off a list of Elton’s hits, segueing into singing the choruses of “Your Song” and “Tiny Dancer” a cappella before cueing the Roots to give him a beat for “Rocket Man,” and proving with that song and “Daniel” that he loves the classics, but might not always know all the lyrics.
After first trying “Daniel” with what sounded like an Irish accent, Fallon requested a reggae rhythm from the Roots, prompting a switch to a rasta accent. He then moved on to scatting the lyrics to “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” beatboxing the piano intro to “Bennie and the Jets” and busting out his Mick Jagger impression for “I’m Still Standing” during the six-minute supercut bit.
John and Carlile then came out to talk about their first joint album, with John recalling how the “Broken Horses” singer wrote him a letter expressing her admiration, long before they finally were introduced in person during his Las Vegas residency at a time when John knew who Carlile was, but had never crossed paths with her. “She wrote me a letter and explained that she’d been a fan of mine ever since she was a kid,” John said. “And I was the reason she wanted to make music and Bernie’s [Taupin] lyrics were the reason she wanted to write lyrics.”
Carlile asked if he’d ever consider a collaboration, and John, a longtime supporter of new and emerging artists, said he would definitely be down. The minute the two finally met up in the studio, John said, “I fell in love with her. And I fell in love with her talent, her voice. But more than that, I fell in love with the person. And we’ve become firm friends. We’re like family.” After that, collaborating, he said, was a “no-brainer,” because ever since that first intro he’d wanted to record with her; the pair first collaborated on John’s pandemic-era The Lockdown Sessions LP on the song “Simple Things.”
They finally got in the studio in L.A. in Oct. 2023 with Taupin and producer Andrew Watt with “nothing” written beforehand. John described the first few days as “very anxious” because he was doubting his ability to create on the spot, despite the blank sheet method being his preferred way of collaborating lately. Though Carlile said she too was anxious, things pretty quickly clicked and after recording the epic album opener, “The Rose of Laura Nyro,” the parts seamlessly fell into place.
“It just turned out exactly the way I wanted it,” John said. “It sounded fresh. It’s the best album I’ve made since the early ’70s.”
Watch John and Carlile on The Tonight Show below.
Last month, DK Metcalf proposed to Normani — and according to the “Motivation” singer, she was totally clueless that the NFL wide receiver was going to pop the question.
While stopping by The Jennifer Hudson Show on Friday (April 4), Normani told her side of the story, describing how the new member of the Pittsburgh Steelers popped the question during a family gathering in Houston. “I had absolutely no idea,” she began. “As oblivious as oblivious can get, that was me.”
The former Fifth Harmony member went on to explain that Metcalf was originally going to propose to her a year prior on a trip to Turks and Caicos, but ultimately decided to wait as not to overshadow the June 2024 release of Normani’s debut solo album, Dopamine. Fast forward to last month, when the wide receiver tricked the musician into thinking that she was headed to a birthday celebration for his sister — but really, it was her own engagement that she walked into.
Trending on Billboard
“I’m like, dang, I hope I don’t ruin the surprise… I thought I was in on the surprise, but I got surprised,” Normani told Hudson, noting that the room in which Metcalf proposed was decorated with bunches of flowers, as well as a violinist and pianist. “He really did it up for me.”
The “Wild Side” musician’s visit to the talk show comes just a few weeks after Metcalf revealed their engagement during an NFL press conference following his recent trade from the Seattle Seahawks to the Steelers. “Hold that rock up, baby,” he said at the time, gesturing to Normani sitting nearby, before telling reporters: “It was my sister’s spring break and just thought about getting the whole family together for a big kumbaya and joining our families with the ring.”
The couple first sparked dating rumors in summer 2022, going official on Instagram a year later. They were introduced by Ciara and Russell Wilson, who played with Metcalf on the Seahawks.
“[Ciara] kept telling me, ‘There’s this guy, there’s this guy,’ for literally like two years,” Normani told Hudson on Friday. “I was in a relationship at the time… but then when the time came around and the time was right, God put all of that together.”
Also on the show, Normani played a game of “Shake It or Share It,” wherein she had to either answer personal questions or bust a move in different styles of dance. While avoiding queries about secrets she hasn’t told her parents and the craziest things fans have done, the X Factor alum showed off her impressive breakdancing and disco skills. She did, however, reveal which celebrity she’d have officiate her wedding to Metcalf — “Ciara, easy,” she said” — as well as if she wants to have kids someday.
“Absolutely,” Normani replied. “My dream has always been four. I want a big family.”
Watch Normani on The Jennifer Hudson Show above and below.
Rock, pop, country? You name it, Kelly Clarkson can nail it. On her daytime talker on Thursday (April 3) Clarkson did it again with a soaring cover of the Foo Fighters’ 1999 anthem “Learn to Fly” during the daily Kellyoke segment. With her My Band Y’all band providing muscular backing, Clarkson gave the rock classic a melancholy makeover, injecting an extra layer of longing into Dave Grohl’s lyrics, as well as, of course, busting out one of signature paint-peeling high notes.
“I just had, like, a lot of caffeine and I’m running hot is what’s happening right now!,” a revved up Clarkson told her studio audience after the performance. The singer noted that she had the Foos on her show a few years ago and she talked to singer/guitarist Grohl about “Learn to Fly,” and how she thought the lyrics had so much deep meaning. “He was like, ‘no, I really just wanted to become a pilot,’” she said Grohl told her.
Trending on Billboard
“I’m still callin’ b.s.,” Clarkson said with a finger wave. “You’re trying to be funny man, but it’s such a deep song! It’s such a cool song! He’s poetic, just lean into it Dave! You could be a pilot and a poet.”
In addition to rocking, out, Clarkson also made some dreams come true for her old friend Tanner Smith from the Netflix dating show Love on the Spectrum, which chronicles the dating lives of autistic adults. She played a clip from the last time Smith was on the show and invited him back to catch up on what he’s been up to and talk about his dating life. She also recalled that last time Smith was on he got a special video greeting from his favorite actor, A Minecraft Movie star Jack Black, after which he set a goal of meeting the energetic star in real life before turning 31.
Clarkson asked Black to make another video for Smith, in which he lamented that he once again could not be there in person because he’s out promoting the big screen video game adaptation. But then, summoning his “insane ninja kung fu powers,” Black burst through the studio doors and ran out on stage into a surprised Smith’s arms.
Smith jumped up, yelling “Jack is here! I’m so happy to meet you! I’m your biggest fan!” bear hugging the actor and introducing him to his younger sister and family in the audience. The sweet moment got even sweeter when the two men bonded over their love of working out, with Smith suggesting he could get Black’s number so they can set up a time to work out together. Black burst out in laughter at the suggesting and high-fived Smith, promising, “this is happening!”
“I love you on the show and I can’t wait for the next season and I’m so happy for you having all this success and time in your life and to meet yo in person is really amazing for me too,” Black said as the two sat arm-in-arm during the lovefest. “Thank you Miss Kelly, thank you so much! This is the best day of my life,” Smith said as Clarkson melted down in happy tears.
Black will host Saturday Night Live this weekend with musical guests Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
Watch Clarkson’s Foos cover and Black’s sweet surprise below.
Cristóbal Tapia de Veer is checking out of The White Lotus. Permanently. The show’s composer told The New York Times that he is leaving after the current season following a string of creative disputes with show creator and director Mike White. “I feel like this was, you know, a rock ’n’ roll band story,” Tapia de Veer told the paper about the disagreements. “I was like, ‘OK, this is like a rock band I’ve been in before where the guitar player doesn’t understand the singer at all.’”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
And while he’s just now speaking out, Tapia de Veer said he’s been having creative conflicts with White since season one, as well as conversations with producers he described as verging on “hysterical” amid their reported requests that he make his themes more “upbeat and less experimental.”
Trending on Billboard
He described announcing to the creative team a few months ago that he was not coming back, but not telling White for “various reasons… I wanted to tell him just at the ed for the shock or whatever,” he said. Asked how White responded, Tapia de Veer said the show runner “says a lot of things” that he can’t really talk about at the moment, then described the situation as being like a scene from the 1978 French drag comedy La Cage Aux Folles.
“You know how there’s Albin, which is like the star, and there’s Renato, who is the producer who is always taking care that Albin doesn’t lose his mind about something, because Albin is the diva and Renato is the guy who is trying to make everything work,” he said. “To me, the show felt very much like that.”
He also said when he got the script for the first season he thought it was very “well-written,” but given the comedic, “reality TV kind of vibe” he thought it didn’t fit his typically “super dark and edgy” musical vibe.
“But when we had the talk with Mike, I just told him in a joke that I thought we could do some kind of ‘Hawaiian Hitchcock,’ and he really grabbed on that and he started laughing,” Tapia de Veer said, adding that White’s original temporary score had a “chill, sexy” Ibiza club vibe with “literally no edge to it” that felt like “nice background music.”
The Chilean composer who has won three Emmys for his work on the series about rich people behaving horrendously in paradise also discussed the vitriol he’s received from fans about “Enlightenment,” his radical, percussion, accordion and handclap revamp of the show’s theme song for the current Thailand-based season that has been very divisive.
For the record, Tapia de Veer said he loves his season three theme and was hoping the current run — which ends on Sunday (April 6) — would at some point include a longer version he’d written that would elide back into the more recognizable, fan-favorite melodies from the first two seasons. As for what direction he was given for this season, Tapia de Veer said there was none, so he began experimenting with a collection of Thai gongs, a Thai violin called a saw u and an Italian accordion his mom sent him that he didn’t know how to play.
The original plan, Tapia de Veer said, was to bring back the apparently beloved “ool-loo-loo-loo” vocalizations form the first two seasons in a longer version of the season three theme, “because people will explode if they realize that it was going there anyway.” He told a producer about that plan and that person thought it was a good idea. But then, he said, White cut the extended edit. “He wasn’t happy about that,” Tapia de Veer said. “I mean, at that point, we already had our last fight forever, I think. So he was just saying no to anything.”
Listen to the extended cut of The White Lotus theme that Tapia de Veer uploaded to YouTube last month below.
What better way to celebrate the release of your love-drenched debut album as a couple than go on The Tonight Show to prove how good you are at lying to each other? Well, that’s exactly what Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco did on Thursday night (March 20) when they fêted their collab LP I Said I Love You First by playing a round of “True Confessions” with host Jimmy Fallon.
Spoiler alert: they are adorably bad at lying to one another.
Trending on Billboard
The couple had other business to discuss on the show, of course, including a re-telling of the tale of Blanco’s elaborate engagement plot, which Selena said she almost ruined because she was exhausted after a long day of work. Gomez, who wore a flattering, off-the-shoulder black velvet dress and heels, and Blanco, dressed in a bedazzled, ripped jeans and an equally sparkly pale purple short-sleeved shirt and black cowboy boots, said she had no idea that Blanco was going to propose back in December because the day it happened she was wiped from work.
“We had to do a lot of promo for the album, so I woke up and I was very confused on what was happening, where we were going, because it seemed kind of far,” Gomez said. “I’m kind of a little grumpy. I really am tired. This is too far. So then I tell him, ‘after this shoot I’m going to go hang out with my friends.’”
Blanco said that sent him into panic mode because getting engaged is the “craziest thing” in the world. “It’s like, right before you’re gonna tell someone you’re gonna be married to them forever, they’re like, ‘show me how good you can lie to me!’” Blanco joked. “It’s the hardest thing in the world!” Blanco said the cloak-and-dagger arrangement made for the “scariest week of my life.”
When Fallon predicted the music at the wedding would be “amazing,” Gomez said they are “definitely not planning exactly at this moment,” but that she will for sure leave the music portion of the big night to Grammy-nominated producer/songwriter Blanco.
The pair, of course, also talked about the album, which Gomez described as “an exploration of each other’s present, past and future. The music was very fun, but cathartic, because we got to know each other on a deeper level.”
Earlier in the episode during the lying game, Selena tried to convince Blanco and Fallon that one time her dog ran away on set and Paul Rudd found it. Blanco was immediately skeptical about the tale, asking what year it was, to which Gomez snapped, “what are you, Judge Judy?” Showing off his deep knowledge of Sel’s dog history, Blanco expertly poked holes in her story, leading the singer to complain, “He knows it’s a lie. I told you backstage I’m going to be terrible at this!”
Nobody fell for Fallon’s dumb claim that he almost ruined Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown’s last year by showing up uninvited, especially Blanco who asked, “Who is Millie Bobby Brown?” After proving his expert sleuthing skills, it was Blanco’s turn to lie, pretending he starred in a Burger King commercial as a kid. He put on a good face, but Gomez immediately wondered, “I dunno… why wouldn’t you have told me that?”
Watch Gomez and Blanco on The Tonight Show below.
Folk legend Joan Baez was having a ball sitting on the couch with an eclectic group of fellow guests on the season debut of John Mulaney’s new Netflix series Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney. But the “Joe Hill” singer whose songs of protest and social justice were a staple of the 1960s folk scene also had some serious things on her mind as well.
In a prelude to a story about “funny person” Martin Luther King Jr., Baez said she needed to “set the context” for what is going on in our country at the moment. “You said I could say anything I want out here,” Baez said to the host. “We’re all here to be silly and have fun, and as long as we recognize the fact that our democracy is going up in flames… we’re being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires.”
Baez did not specifically note who said billionaires are, but it appeared she was talking about Donald Trump and DOGE boss Elon Musk, who have been deeply slashing the federal government workforce over the past two months in their attempt to cut government spending in a manner that has raised alarms about the impact on the environment, American’s health and safety of the LGBTQ+ community.
Trending on Billboard
After Mulaney joked about the thought of Baez driving a Tesla, the singer noted that she actually used to own one of Musk’s all-electric cars after her assistant suggested she try one, but that she now has serious buyer’s remorse.
“I hated that thing,” Baez, 84, said. “But I thought I was supposed to like it. So I drove off in it. Within 45 minutes I had smashed it into an oak tree on my property… I was thinking, ‘That’s a sign.’” While Baez said the crash was not on purpose, the joke came amid a national, and international, backlash against Musk’s chainsaw-like slashing of federal programs that has seen Tesla vehicles and showrooms vandalized.
“I hated it,” Baez added of the car without specifying when she owned it. “It was too big… I sold it and got one-half the amount of money I paid for.”
Baez — who was portrayed by Monica Barbaro in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown – appeared on the re-boot of the show alongside actor Michael Keaton, SNL alumni Fred Armisen and Tracy Morgan, popular personal finance columnist Jessica Roy and Christopher Lloyd, and, of course, Mulaney’s sidekick and announcer, comedian/actor Richard Kind.
She also talked about hanging out with civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, saying she heard him tell “dirty jokes” when the cameras weren’t around. “I thought, ‘I am going to get the inside story on how these guys do these marches,’” Baez said, lamenting that instead “They all start telling dirty jokes… from the airport to his favorite little restaurant.” Asked if she remembered any of the bawdy jokes, Baez said, “I do, and I can’t tell them here.”
In addition, Baez proved her ageless nature by gamely dancing along to musical guests Cypress Hill as they performed their 1993 stone cold classic, “Hits From the Bong.”
Mulaney’s series began life as the Emmy-winning, six-episode Everybody’s in L.A. last May during the Netflix is a Joke festival, with a playful live format that focused on a series of very LA.-specific subjects, including coyotes, palm trees, helicopters and the paranormal. It will now air as a series of 12 live weekly shows.
Fresh off her appearance at Sunday’s Academy Awards as part of a James Bond theme song tribute, BLACKPINK’s LISA bonded with Jimmy Kimmel over their shared experience of being flown up into the rafters on wires at the Oscars. “It seemed so elegant and graceful, but it’s kind of scary right?” asked Kimmel on Tuesday night’s (March 4) Jimmy Kimmel Live!, recalling the agita (and discomfort) he felt while flying over the stage during one of his hosting stints on the awards show.
“It was really scary,” LISA smiled. “I was like, ‘I’m not comfortable doing this!” The singer said producers repeatedly checked in to make sure she felt good about being lowered to the stage in a harness as she sang Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” as part of a medley that also had Doja Cat covering Shirley Bassey’s “Diamond Are Forever” and RAYE’s take on Adele’s “Skyfall.” While Kimmel complained about gravity “squeezing everything down” if you know what he means, LISA said she couldn’t really feel her legs.
Trending on Billboard
“Those were the least of my problems,” Kimmel joked.
The BLACKPINK singer also talked about her well-received turn as Mook on the current season of HBO’s The White Lotus, noting that many fans have speculated that because her resort worker character is so sweet on the series she might turn out to be the killer. “Oh… am I supposed to tell you that?” she responded haltingly, with a coquettish glint in her eye. “Legally you should not, but I would appreciate it if you did,” Kimmel said, knowing that his ploy to squeeze some spoilers about the tightly-held plot of the show was going nowhere.
“I think she’s a sweet girl,” LISA said of the character whose name means “pearl” in Thai before Kimmel explained the not-as-nice meaning of the word in America. Kimmel also wondered if during the cast’s regular karaoke sessions on set if the crew or extras freaked out when they saw the K-pop superstar stepping up to the mic. “They don’t care!,” LISA said. “I’m just sitting in the corner of the room cheering them, hyping them up,” she said, explaining that she didn’t sing during the sessions, but was more into dancing.
“I feel weird for me to grab the mic and sing karaoke,” she smiled. “[There’s] a lot of pressure.” As for who was the best karaoke singer in the cast, LISA said for sure it was the lone returning actor from season two: horny masseuse Natasha Rothwell. “Oh, she’s so good!” LISA said.
She also discussed the concept behind her just-released solo album, Alter Ego, explaining that while recording it in Los Angeles she tried her hand at recording songs in a variety of styles, all of which she ended up loving. “That’s why I called this album Alter Ego and [I] have five different characters [on it],” she said of Roxi, Kiki, Sunni, Speedi and the main character, Vixi.
These days, she said, Vixi is the one that is closest to her actual personality, though, like Speedi, she loves to drive fast in her car.
Watch LISA on Jimmy Kimmel Live! below.
After a five-year break, Adam Levine is back on The Voice and it feels good. The singer said he’s “ready” and “rested” after stepping away from the show for a bit, telling Jennifer Hudson on Tuesday’s (Feb. 25) Jennifer Hudson Show that getting a chance to take a break and hang with wife Behati Prinsloo and the couple’s three young children has been good for him.
“Stepping back into it when I was really ready and comfortable it kind of felt like natural timing for everything,” said Levine, 45, who logged 16 seasons on The Voice before splitting in 2019. Levine was there in the show’s debut season in 2011, slipping into the iconic red chair next to Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green and his best frenemy, Blake Shelton.
Hudson, who overlapped with Levine during seasons 13 and 15, asked if Levine has changed his strategy at all on he show, noting that he was “not easy to deal with” when she was going up against him. “I’m a pain in the butt,” Levine admitted, revealing that there was no official strategy when the first crew started the reality series that his team won three times.
Trending on Billboard
“So you just think to yourself, ‘Okay, I’ll just see how this goes,’” he said. More importantly, Hudson noted that Levine is now sitting in Shelton’s old chair after the nine-time champ country singer departed his long-time gig in May 2023 after 12 years.
“Doesn’t smell great,” Levine laughed. “Smells kind of off… weathered. Worn in, the seat’s a little more sunken in cuz he’s big… he’s a tall drink of water that guy. Nah, I think they washed it. It feels good.” He also described being on the “other side” of the stage this time, with John Legend book-ending the panel, a set-up the self-proclaimed “end-seat kind of guy” loves.
In the chat, Levine described taking his whole family on tour with Maroon 5 on the band’s recent run of shows in Asia, as well as being a “heated” basketball coach for his kids and the group’s upcoming “M5LV” Las Vegas residency at the Dolby Live at Park MGM theater in March.
And though he didn’t reveal many details, Levine also promised that M5 has some new music coming “soon,” and though he admitted he always says it, he’s “the most excited” about the upcoming LP, their follow-up to 2021’s Jordi. “We scaled it back a little bit and I did some writing on my own.. I kept it tighter,” he said of writing some of the songs by himself, saying they “harken back to the older stuff.”
Watch Levine on The Jennifer Hudson Show below.