TV/Film

01 May 2025

Watch Benson Boone Backflip Through His ‘Saturday Night Live’ Promos

Benson Boone broke out his signature backflip on Thursday (May 1) to promote his upcoming appearance on Saturday Night Live.

When the first SNL promo opens, the pop sensation is nowhere to be found, missing his cue after host Quinta Brunson excitedly introduces him as the episode’s musical guest. “Huh, he was supposed to flip into frame,” SNL standout Sarah Sherman points out, leading Brunson to worry, “Yeah, I hope he’s OK.”

Only after the two women start calling out Boone’s name does the “Beautiful Things” singer tumble onto the screen — backflipping into Studio 8H as Brunson and Sherman let out screams of surprise. (“Hi ladies! Gotcha!” he adds with a grin.)

In a second promo, Brunson keeps a giddy Boone from doing another flip, amusingly muttering, “He be flippin’,” under her breath in the process.

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The 2025 best new artist Grammy nominee isn’t the only person launching himself head over heels in the video, either. In the final segment, Sherman volunteers to be the one to try out the gymnastics move with an unworried “I’ll figure it out!” Naturally, this leads to disaster with the comedian sprawled out on the studio floor and unable to move, her limbs contorted in unnatural angles as an on-set medic attends to her (fake) injuries.

Boone’s debut appearance on the long-running sketch series is sure to continue building excitement for his highly anticipated sophomore album, American Heart, which will be released June 20 and feature previously released singles “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” and “Mystical Magical.”

The 22-year-old heartthrob’s sure-to-be aerial performance on the stage of Studio 8H also follows his rollicking sets at Coachella last month, which included plenty of backflips and a surprise appearance on weekend 1 of Queen guitarist Brian May for a cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Watch Boone flip out over his upcoming Saturday Night Live gig below.

01 May 2025

Kelly Clarkson Wants to Be Stuck on a Desert Island With This Fellow ‘American Idol’ Star

When it comes to the prospect of being trapped on a deserted island, Kelly Clarkson would want to be with a fellow American Idol alum.

The hypothetical scenario came up on Thursday’s episode (May 1) of The Kelly Clarkson Show during a round of “Playing Dice With God,” with guests Tina Fey and Will Forte.

Bathed in the studio’s heavenly light, the American Idol winner’s roll of the dice landed on the “Personal” category, prompting the unseen announcer (i.e. “God”) to ask, “If you had to be stranded on an island with one former famous co-worker, who would you choose and why?”

Without skipping a beat, Clarkson answered, “I’m gonna say — she seems like a fun hang for a while — so I’m gonna say J-Hud. I’m gonna say Jennifer Hudson.”

The two stars never crossed paths on Idol: Clarkson won the inaugural season in 2002, while the future EGOT was shockingly eliminated in seventh place two years later in one of the most controversial voting results in the show’s history. However, they did end up working together — and competing against one another — as coaches on The Voice more than a decade later. (In season 15, Clarkson took home her second consecutive win thanks to Cheval Shepherd’s victory; Team J-Hud’s Kennedy Holmes ultimately came in fourth place.)

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Since they spent time in NBC’s famous spinning chairs, Hudson has also joined her Idol predecessor in the daytime-TV trenches by launching her eponymous talk show The Jennifer Hudson Show in 2022.

Watch Clarkson roll the dice on the chances of Hudson being a good beachside buddy below.

01 May 2025

‘Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets’ Nominated for 2025 News & Documentary Emmy Award

Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, produced by ABC News Studios, was nominated for outstanding arts, culture or entertainment coverage at the 2025 News & Documentary Emmy Awards. The nominations were announced on Thursday (May 1).

Springsteen has been nominated for three Primetime Emmys, but has yet to win. He was nominated for outstanding variety, music or comedy special for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (HBO, 2001), outstanding special class – short-form live action entertainment program for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Super Bowl Halftime Show (NBC, 2009) and outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for Springsteen on Broadway (Netflix, 2019).

Springsteen has won 20 Grammys and an Oscar. He received a Special (honorary) Tony Award in 2018 to honor his show Springsteen on Broadway, which played in 2017-18 and again in 2021.

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Celine’s Story, an NBC News special with Hoda Kotb, Celine Dion’s first TV interview after being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, is nominated for outstanding edited interview.

As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial is nominated for outstanding arts and culture documentary. In the doc, which premiered on Paramount+ in February 2024, Killer Mike sat down with rapper Kemba to delve deeper into the criminalization of lyrics in hip-hop.

The 46th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards honor programming that originally premiered in calendar year 2024. The 2,200 submissions were judged by a pool of more than 980 peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media news and documentary industry.

The 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented live at the Palladium Times Square in New York City, and will be streamed live on The Emmys website and via The Emmys apps for iOS, tvOS, Android, FireTV and Roku.

The awards will be presented in two ceremonies:

  • News ceremony – Wednesday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET
  • Documentary ceremony – Thursday, June 26, at 7 p.m. ET

Here are the nominees in categories most relevant to the music community. The complete list of nominees is available on The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ website:

Outstanding arts, culture or entertainment coverage

10 Million Names, ABC News Live, ABC

Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, ABC News Studios, ABC

“Finding His Voice,” CBS Sunday Morning, CBS

“Illegal Gambling,” Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana van Zeller, National Geographic [Muck Media]

“The Last Heroes of Normandy,” ABC World News Tonight With David Muir and Nightline, ABC

“Netflix Is Betting Big on Latin America,” The Circuit With Emily Chang, Bloomberg

Outstanding arts and culture documentary

As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, Paramount+ [MTV Entertainment Studios, District 33, Park Pictures, Strike Anywhere]

Butterfly in the Sky, Netflix [Sidestilt Films, Window Pictures, XTR]

Hollywood Black, MGM+ [Radical Media, Culture Machine, Significant Productions]

King Coal, POV, PBS [Narrow Vision Endeavors, Cottage M, Drexler Films, King Coal Productions LLC, Fishbowl Films]

Madu, Disney + [Disney Branded Television, Hunting Lane Films]

Outstanding edited interview

“Celine’s Story: An NBC News Special with Hoda Kotb,” NBC News Special Report, NBC News

“The Democratic Ticket,” 60 Minutes, CBS News

“Ketanji Brown Jackson,” CBS Sunday Morning, CBS

“Pope Francis,” 60 Minutes, CBS News

“Prisoner in Russia: The Brittney Griner Interview,” 20/20, ABC

Outstanding music composition – documentary

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, National Geographic [Silverback Films]

“Dan Winters: Life is Once. Forever,” Photographer, National Geographic [Little Monster Films]

Endurance, National Geographic [A Little Dot Studios, Consequential, History Hit Production, Little Monster Films, National Geographic Documentary Films]

Frida, Prime Video [Imagine Documentaries, TIME Studios]

Mafia Spies, Paramount+ [CreativeChaos vmg]

01 May 2025

Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo & More Set to Guest Judge ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’

Will the new cast of queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 10 find themselves becoming more and more “Popular” on the new season? Will they need some “Good Luck, Babe” in order to take home the top prize? Maybe the new slate of guest judges can help them figure it out.

On Wednesday (May 1), Paramount+ shared the official trailer for All Stars 10, featuring the first glimpse at a brand new slate of guest judges set to join this season. The trailer shows stars including Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Ice Spice, Coleman Domingo and many more.

In the new trailer, Roan can be seen entering the work room, putting on the queens’ drag and posing with the contestants for a selfie. “Do any of you queers have something sexy I can slip into?” she asks as she enters in a wig cap and robe, before footage shows her on the judges panel in a plasticine blow-up doll look.

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Later, Erivo and Grande appear together in the work room declaring that “the witches will see you now!” Once they’re on the runway, the trailer shows the pair bantering with RuPaul. “It’s good to see us, isn’t it?” Erivo says, before Grande chimes in, “No need to respond. That was a rhetorical.”

The news comes just after Drag Race announced the jam-packed cast of 18 queens for All Stars 10, the most to ever compete in a single season of Drag Race. With a massive cast, the new season introduces a new All Stars format. The “Tournament of All Stars,” as the show calls it, will split the queens into three groups of six. Each group will compete with one another, with the top three queens of each group advancing to the semifinal round of the bracket-style competition, where they will compete until a group of finalists advances to the Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown.

Watch the full trailer for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 10 above.

01 May 2025

Ed Sheeran, ROSÉ of BLACKPINK & More Are Off to the Races on ‘F1’ Movie Soundtrack

It’s lights out and away they go for Ed Sheeran, ROSÉ of BLACKPINK and several more stars, with Atlantic Records announcing the full lineup for its F1: The Album Thursday (May 1).

In addition to the “Azizam” singer and K-pop star, Tate McRae, RAYE, Burna Boy, Roddy Rich, Dom Dolla, Chris Stapleton, Tiësto, Sexyy Red, Myke Towers, Madison Beer, Peggy Gou and more will also help soundtrack the Brad Pitt-led film. The album was led by the Ryan Tedder-produced single “Lose My Mind” by Don Toliver featuring Doja Cat, which dropped the day prior to the F1: The Album announcement and samples Hans Zimmer’s “F1 Movie Theme.”

Directed by Top Gun: Maverick‘s Joseph Kosinski, F1 finds the Fight Club actor portraying retired racer Sonny Hayes — whose career was cut short decades prior due to an injury — as he returns to the track to help former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) save his struggling Formula 1 team, Apex Grand Prix. The film will also star Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce, the team’s “hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace,” according to a description.  

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For the companion album, the filmmakers tapped Kevin Weaver to produce. The two-time Grammy winner previously oversaw the soundtrack albums for Barbie, Twisters, The Greatest Showman, Suicide Squad, Daisy Jones & The Six and Birds of Prey. Atlantic’s Brandon Davis and Joseph Khoury also helped produce the F1 album. 

F1 will hit theaters June 27, with the soundtrack dropping the same day. See the full artist lineup and album announcement below.

30 Apr 2025

The Weeknd Is Ready for His ‘Seal Moment’ After ‘The Batman’ Director Says ‘Call Out My Name’ Inspired Superhero Sequel

While The Weeknd is starring in his first feature film next month with Hurry Up Tomorrow, one of his old hits is inspiring a different film.

Matt Reeves, who directed 2022’s The Batman starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz, had previously told IGN that Pattinson’s titular character will be heartbroken in the beginning of the sequel, The Batman Part II. And earlier this month, Reeves told IndieWire: “The Weeknd’s ‘Call Out My Name’ was a big inspiration for what Bruce is dealing with when we see him again.”

“Call Out My Name” is the opening track from the Canadian-Ethiopian superstar’s 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy. The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. And the music video, which has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube, starts off with the artist walking down an empty street before a cauldron of bats flies out from his mouth when he belts out the hook.

The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) posted a snippet of the IndieWire article on his Instagram Story on Wednesday (April 30) with the pair of eyes, broken heart and bat emojis. He later shared a still from the bat scene in his “Call Out My Name” visual and wrote, “lemme know if ya’ll want that seal moment” while Seal‘s smash “Kiss From a Rose” plays in the background of the IG Story slide.

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“Kiss From a Rose” was initially released as the second single from Seal’s 1994 self-titled sophomore album, but didn’t gain much traction. Joel Schumacher, who directed the 1995 film Batman Forever, reached out to him about needing a song for a love scene between the late Val Kilmer as Batman and Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian and picked “Kiss From a Rose,” while later including it in the end credits and the film’s official soundtrack. Boosted by the film, the song eventually hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and won best video for a film at the MTV VMAs that year, as well as three Grammys for record of the year, song of the year and best male pop vocal performance in 1996.

The Batman Part II is currently slated for a theatrical release on Oct. 1, 2027.

30 Apr 2025

For ‘A Goofy Movie’ 30th Anniversary, See ‘I 2 I’ With Cartoon Pop Star Powerline in New Immersive VR Concert Video

If you’re a ’90s kid, you know that one of the decade’s greatest pop stars wasn’t even a real person. We’re of course talking about Powerline, the cartoon hitmaker voiced by actual ’90s teen idol Tevin Campbell in 1995’s A Goofy Movie.

To celebrate the animated movie’s release 30 years ago this month, on Wednesday (April 30), Disney delivered a new virtual-reality version of A Goofy Movie‘s climactic concert scene, in which Powerline sings “I 2 I,” one of two songs the fictional musician performs in the movie. (The Billboard staff included both of the Patrick DeRemer & Roy Freeland-written tracks on our list of the 100 Best Disneyverse Songs of All Time: “I 2 I” ranks at No. 20, while “Stand Out” landed at No. 88.)

According to the video announcement, “The VR concert will give fans the chance to fully experience the thrill of a Powerline performance like never before, as if they were on stage in front of the sold-out audience.” No matter how you watch the video — whether on a VR headset, using a mobile device or on a desktop computer — you can see the concert from a panoramic perspective, experiencing 360-degree views from the stage.

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In addition to Powerline, the VR scene also includes Goofy (voiced by Bill Farmer) and his son Max Goof (Jason Marsden), who manage to sneak onstage at the Los Angeles concert after Max lied to his crush Roxanne and said he was invited by his favorite pop star.

In other A Goofy Movie news, the soundtrack was recently reissued on splatter-color vinyl for its 30th anniversary, prompting its re-entry, and new peak, at No. 4 on Billboard‘s Kid Albums chart and its No. 12 debut on the Soundtracks chart (both dated April 26).

Between 1992 and 1994, Campbell scored three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 when he was still in his teens: “Can We Talk,” “Tell Me What You Want Me To Do” and “I’m Ready.” Sadly, Powerline never cracked the chart.

Watch the “I 2 I” 360-degree concert video below:

30 Apr 2025

Don Toliver & Doja Cat Hit the Fast Lane for New Song ‘Lose My Mind’: Watch the Music Video

Don Toliver and Doja Cat have joined forces for a new song titled “Lose My Mind,” which will appear on the F1 movie soundtrack.

On Wednesday (April 30), Don Toliver dropped off the music video for “Lose My Mind” after teasing the song just 24 hours earlier. The song will appear on the soundtrack for the new movie F1, and in the visual, both Don and Doja suit up for a race of their own, with the former hopping behind his own race car and the latter getting tinkered with as she spits some venomous bars.

F1 The Album drops the same day as the Apple Original Film on June 27, and serves as the official soundtrack to F1, which stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as competing F1 drivers.

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“Lose My Mind” also isn’t the first time Toliver has gotten behind the wheel for a soundtrack based around quick vehicles. Four years ago, he linked with Lil Durk and Latto on “Fast Car” from the F9: The Fast Saga (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). “Lose My Mind” also marks the second time Doja has contributed an original song for a film soundtrack, after having previously done “Vegas” for Elvis (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) in 2022. “Vegas” reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 1 on both Pop Airplay (for four weeks) and Rhythmic Airplay (one week).

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In other news, Doja has been hard at work teasing her fifth studio album, Vie. She teased a potential tracklist to the project a few weeks ago, all but confirming something was coming. Vie comes on the heels of Doja’s 2023 album Scarlet, whit hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

Watch the “Lose My Mind” video below.

30 Apr 2025

Chappell Roan Recalls Her ‘Voice’ Audition Where Producer Didn’t ‘Even Look Up From His Phone’

Before she was one of the most recognizable voices in pop music, Chappell Roan was just one of countless aspiring singers whose hopes were dashed by the audition process for competition shows such as The Voice and America’s Got Talent. 

In her W Magazine cover story published Wednesday (April 30), the pop star recalled her disappointing experiences trying out for both shows back when she was a teenager, with Roan not even making it past the first round for either. “When I auditioned for The Voice, I was 15 and I sang ‘Stay’ by Rihanna,” she began. “The producer or whoever the f–k was watching did not even look up from his phone. He was like, OK, next.’”  

“I went up there and sang a cappella, the scariest thing ever,” she added. “He never really looked at me.” 

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At that point, Roan had already auditioned for America’s Got Talent two years prior. “I was 13, and we flew to Austin, Texas, and waited in line with thousands of people at 4 a.m.,” Roan recalled of that experience. “I sang ‘True Colors’ by Cyndi Lauper. Did not make it either.” 

The Missouri native wouldn’t get her big break until more than a decade later, and not before she’d endure even more setbacks (such as being dropped from her label, Atlantic Records, in 2020). In 2024, Roan’s career exploded with a hot streak of festival sets and the success of single “Good Luck, Babe!” on the Billboard Hot 100 — it peaked at No. 4 in September — with the star going on to win best new artist at the 2025 Grammys in February. 

During her acceptance speech at the ceremony, Roan used her time on stage to challenge the music industry to take better care of developing artists, reading out of a well-loved notebook, “Labels, we got you — but do you got us?” To W, the “Casual” singer confirmed that the book was her actual diary, revealing that she’s been journaling since she was in middle school. 

Roan also opened up about her first kiss in the interview — she was 15 and in her parents’ driveway, though she now says that “kissing girls is funner” — as well as her biggest pet peeve. “When people name-drop,” said the vocalist, who recently confirmed that she has a serious girlfriend. “I immediately don’t trust them.” 

“I’m not the girl to care about that stuff,” she added. “It is an immediate turnoff in a romantic or a friendship way. I’m like, ‘If you name-drop, I’m probably not going to be your friend.’” 

See Roan on the cover of W below. 

30 Apr 2025

Charli XCX Books Next Acting Gig — Starring In & Producing Japanese Horror Director Takashi Miike’s Next Film

Charli xcx has lined up yet another major acting gig. According to Variety, the singer will star in and produce the next movie from Japanese horror director Takashi Miike (Yakuza Apocalypse, Ichi the Killer).

At press time no information was available about the film’s plot, but the unnamed film will be the second project Charli will produce through her new Studio365 banner, following the upcoming A24 drama The Moment, which is based on the singer’s original idea. Miike is a legendarily prolific director who has helmed more than 100 films over the past three decades, many of them known for their graphic violence.

The script for the Miike movie will be written by Ross Evans (How to Save a Marriage).

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In addition to ruling last summer with her Grammy-winning Brat album — and seemingly this summer as well — Charli has been building up an impressive acting resume as well. Along with director Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment, she will appear in Julia Jackman’s period drama 100 Nights of Hero, as well as Pete Ohs and Jeremy O. Harris’ Erupcja and director Daniel Goldhaber’s horror remake of the legendary shock cult film Faces of Death.

Her long list of upcoming big screen projects also includes director Greg Araki’s I Want Your Sex and Romain Garvas’ adventure comedy Sacrifice, as well as The Gallerist, in which she’ll appear alongside Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. As if all that wasn’t enough, the singer/actress is also reportedly in talks to join Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Narnia film as Jadis, the White Witch.

Charli will also be storming the small screen thanks to Benito Skinner’s upcoming Prime Video comedy series Overcompensating (May 15), which she produced music for in addition to shooting a cameo.

After crushing it at Coachella earlier this month with a set that included guest spots from Lorde, Billie Eilish and Troye Sivan, Charli continues her 2025 road trip with an upcoming four-night stand at Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning tonight (April 30).