The Weeknd won a leading 10 awards at Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards, including the climactic top artist trophy presented as the climax of the night, followed by the late Pop Smoke with five, and BTS and Bad Bunny with four apiece. Accepting one of several awards on-camera earlier in the evening, the Weeknd promised
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While word spread the day before the show that Drake’s three-year-old son Adonis would be in the audience to see his dad accept the Artist of the Decade award at the Billboard Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, few expected the rapper to walk onstage with him. Drake, clad in a dapper off-white suit
Yet again, BTS proved they’ve got that superstar glow. Just after releasing their new single on Friday, BTS graced the Billboard Music Awards with a performance of “Butter.” Broadcasting live, BTS performed remotely from Korea. The group, comprised of Jung Kook, V, Jimin, j-hope, SUGA, Jin and RM, took viewers along to a backstage dressing
Was 1971 the best single year for recorded popular music, ever? Or merely the year in which it reached peak cultural significance? Maybe, just maybe, the answer could be: both. You’ll certainly be hard-pressed to come up with a better argument for another annum after watching all eight episodes of “1971: The Year That Music
It’s proving to be a record-breaking weekend for BTS. The group’s new single, “Butter,” has officially racked up the most opening day streams in Spotify history with 20.9 million unfiltered global streams and 11.042 million filtered global streams. This pushed the anthemic, disco-infused “Butter” ahead of the platform’s former debut record holder, “I Don’t Care”
Fashion designer and creative director Nicola Formichetti has worked with Lady Gaga for over a decade. From her famous meat dress to the Grammys’ vessel arrival, he and Gaga have collaborated to create some of her most iconic looks. “Everything with Gaga always, especially in fashion, comes from the music. It’s always important that we
Italian metal band Måneskin, winners of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, is under investigation after their off-stage antics went viral during the grand final. Footage shared widely on social media depicts the band drinking and celebrating at their table during the event, with lead singer Damiano David’s head briefly bent over the table. It’s been
Eurovision is back after two years, and the 65th edition of the world’s biggest music competition doesn’t stand to disappoint. There’s more global interest than ever this year thanks to Netflix’s Eurovision movie “The Story of Fire Saga,” starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, which filled the void last year with bangers like “Jaja Ding
With a star-studded lineup of performers and presenters, the Billboard Music Awards are back, airing live on NBC Sunday in all time zones, starting at 8 p.m ET/ 5 p.m. PT. Among the A-listers set to perform live at the 2021 BBMAs are the Weeknd, who is up for 16 awards, and BTS, who will
The Linda Lindas, the all-female rock band that lit up social media this week when a video of their recent performance at the Los Angeles Public Library went viral, have signed with Epitaph Records. A rep for the label confirmed the low-key signing to Variety but had no further news; the signing was first speculated
Who else but BTS could break a record set by BTS? The Korean supergroup broke their own record Friday for most YouTube views in the first 24-hours of release with their new English-language single “Butter,” hitting approximately 113 million views by midnight ET, according to the platform’s public views counter. BTS had set the previous
Blake Shelton doesn’t seem particularly gaunt at any given time, but weightlessness may be the term that best applies to “Body Language,” his first all-new album in four years. That can be said for better or worse, or both: Breezy, slightly attitudinal affability is a quality that works for the country superstar on record as
U.S. President Joe Biden had a lot to talk about Friday at the White House in his second in-person meeting with a foreign leader, Korean President Moon Jae-In. There was the volatile situation in North Korea and the denuclearization of the peninsula, collaboration on vaccinations to prevent the deadly spread of COVID-19, climate change, and
With the announcement of a final tour of duty for the Monkees and this week’s release of a new solo album, “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” — in which he pays tribute to an old friend, elegant songsmith and beloved collaborator — Micky Dolenz is getting his cake, and eating the whole thing with glee. When guitarist-composer
J. Cole has joined the likes of Timbaland, Mike Will Made It, Mike Dean, Scott Storch, Rance Dopson and many other A-list creators at Beatclub, an online marketplace for beats and sounds launching later this year. In addition to deals with “elite” producers and beatmakers, the platform allows creators to keep 100% of their music
“Luther” star Idris Elba will host the Africa Day Concert, an event which is a partnership between him, MTV Base and YouTube. The virtual concert, which will be held on Africa Day (May 25), is set to be a pan-African event, with artists performing on multiple stages from Lagos to Johannesburg in an event that
New York’s The Stonewall Inn will kick off LGBTQ Pride Month with a star-studded streaming concert on June 1 to benefit The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Safe Spaces Initiatives. Presenters and performers for the event, produced by Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora and Victoria Varela, include Billy Eichner, Chelsea Clinton, Margaret Cho, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Julianne
The Country Music Association announced the ballot schedule and rules of eligibility for the CMA Awards in November — and has addressed the inevitable question of whether Morgan Wallen will be eligible, with the answer being an interesting split decision that leaves him in contention for some awards but knocked out in others. Essentially, any
California officials have announced the full details of the state’s reopening plan, set to take effect on June 15. The Friday news conference laid out plans for removing social distancing and capacity requirements throughout the state. Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of health and human services, said capacity limitations are no longer part of the guidelines.
“Pink: All I Know So Far,” streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting May 21, is not a concert documentary, says the film’s co-editor Cindy Mollo. Rather, it’s the story of a mother on tour with her family whose career goal is to play the world-famous Wembley Stadium. The doc, directed by Michael Gracey, follows the
Billie Eilish fans will get her “Happier Than Ever” album in July, but when it comes to really living happily ever after by attending her tour, that’ll have to wait till early next year. The singer announced Friday that her long-delayed arena tour will kick off Feb. 3. Her 32-date outing in the United States
Jeremih has been cast in the upcoming Starz series “Power Book IV: Force.” As previously announced, the series centers on fan-favorite character Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) after he cuts ties and puts New York in his rearview mirror for good. Jeremih will play Elijah, a high-ranking member of CBI who knows how the drug game
At the beginning of the 1970s, mainstream Black music was a massive singles scene. A handful of Motown acts, including the Supremes and the Temptations, had managed to score Top 10 albums during the ‘60s, but with the exception of Aretha Franklin’s Atlantic Records releases post-“Respect” and Ray Charles’ run of early ‘60s hits on
I’m an Israeli father of two young boys here in Tel Aviv. I love them to bits. I know that across the border in Gaza there’s a Palestinian father with kids who feels the same way about his. I know we both want to protect them more than anything. Like me, I’m sure he tells
Two keenly anticipated live performances at the Eurovision Song Contest grand final on May 22 will not take place because of positive COVID-19 tests. On May 19, a member of the Icelandic group Daði og Gagnamagnið, one of the competition favorites, tested positive for COVID-19, while the rest of the delegation tested negative. They took
BTS’ new English-language single “Butter” broke records and slid to the top of the U.S. iTunes chart all within the first two hours of its release. “Butter” became the fastest video ever on YouTube to hit 10 million views, passing the mark in just 13 minutes to break a record that BTS set last summer
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 and NBCUniversal streamer Peacock’s riotous new comedy “We Are Lady Parts” is releasing an official soundtrack, Variety can reveal. The stereotype-busting, Working Title-produced series about a fictional Muslim female punk band premiered on Channel 4 on Thursday to effusive praise from the U.K. press, which has widely noted that the show’s
The credits on BTS’ new single, the synth-heavy dance pop track “Butter,” will be familiar to people who follow such things, with names like Rob Grimaldi, Stephen Kirk, Alex Bilowitz, Sebastian Garcia and the group’s RM as well as Jenna Andrews, who received a vocal production credit on the K-pop titans’ global breakthrough song “Dynamite.”
The Los Angeles Public Library kicked off its celebration of AAPI Heritage Month on May 4, in line with its “TEENtastic Tuesdays,” with a performance from youthful Los Angeles band The Linda Lindas. But it wasn’t until today that their set exploded over social media when the LAPL posted their performance of “Racist Sexist Boy”
Michelle Zauner, who records under the alias Japanese Breakfast, has released a new song, “Savage Good Boy,” accompanied by a self-directed music video starring Michael Imperioli. In the video, Imperioli plays poker with Zauner until she bites the “Sopranos” star in the neck and leaves him bleeding out. “‘Savage Good Boy’ came from a headline