Categoría: Billboard

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Sept. 13, we look at Sabrina Carpenter’s first two singles from her just-released Man’s Best Friend set, and which may have the stronger performance on next week’s chart.  Explore See latest videos, charts and news Sabrina Carpenter, “Tears” & “Manchild” (Island/Republic): Pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter is all but guaranteed to have the top spot on next week’s Billboard 200 albums chart with her new set Man’s Best Friend. The follow-up to last year’s four-week Billboard 200 No. 1 Short n’ Sweet, Carpenter’s latest arrives on the back of a good deal of discourse around its provocative title and cover — which the singer-songwriter has largely shrugged off — as well as her second No. 1 on the Hot 100 with lead single “Manchild,” which became her first song to debut atop the chart upon its June release.   Next week, Carpenter will look to make it two No. 1 debuts in a row with winking, discofied second single “Tears” — which, as “Manchild” did, arrives along with a big new music video. Directed by Bardia Zeinali (who also helmed the Barry Keoghan-co-starring clip for Carpenter’s first Hot 100 No. 1, “Please Please Please”), the clip features a Rocky Horror Picture Show-inspired narrative, starring Emmy-winning actor Colman Domingo in drag, as well as elaborate staging and choreography. She has also maintained interest in the new video over the week by premiering multiple differing endings for the video — which originally closed with her killing her boyfriend, out of obligation to her personal brand — over the course of the album’s release week.   “Tears” is off to a very good start at DSPs, hitting No. 1 on both the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart and the Apple Music real-time chart, and maintaining in the top two on both throughout the week. On radio, it’s still only getting started, but is also set to make a fairly strong debut, possibly entering the top 25 on Pop Airplay, and earning 7.4 million in all-format audience over the first four days of the tracking week (Aug. 29-Sept. 1), according to Luminate. The one area where it’s clearly lagging behind where “Manchild” began is in sales, as “Tears” has had a good-not-great showing on iTunes, currently landing outside the top 25 on that real-time chart. (“Manchild” also had a sizeable first week in vinyl single sales; “Tears” is available for purchase only as a download.) “Tears” will also face continued competition from “Manchild” on the chart next week, as that song had slipped out of the top 10 on the Hot 100, but rebounds 14-7 this week with notable gains in both streaming and radio. Those streams should continue to rise for next week with the release of the full Man’s Best Friend (which “Manchild” leads off), and the song is also continuing to grow on radio, most likely tracking for a second week atop the Pop Airplay chart, and up another 5% in all-format audience over that Aug. 29-Sept. 1 period.   Whether “Tears” can outpace “Manchild” and put up a real challenge for the No. 1 spot may be determined by its final few days of tracking — as the song returned to the top of the Spotify daily listing after Labor Day Weekend, and may continue to swell from there as more and more listeners catch onto its charms.   HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI, “Golden” (Visva/Republic): The biggest challenge for “Tears” on the Hot 100 will of course be getting past HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” which holds at No. 1 this week for a third week, and which hasn’t stopped growing yet in either streams or sales. It’s taken back the top spot on the Apple Music real-time listing from “Tears” — and has traded off the Spotify daily No. 1 with Carpenter over the course of the week — and it continues to be one of the week’s best-sellers, currently ranking at No. 2 on the real-time iTunes chart.   And on radio, it’s officially taken off. The song is up 10% over that Aug. 29-Sept. 1 period, trending towards both the top 10 on the Pop Airplay chart and the top 25 on the overall Radio Songs listing. It’s crazy to say about a song by a fictional girl group from a K-pop movie musical — versus one of the most consistent radio hitmakers of the last two years — but radio may be the thing that keeps “Golden” out of range for Sabrina Carpenter’s latest to pass next week on the Hot 100.   Source link

Playtime isn’t over yet for Man’s Best Friend. On Thursday (Sept. 4), Sabrina Carpenter announced that she’s following up her new album with the digital release of a bonus track called “Such a Funny Way.” Sharing a glam photo of herself looking forlorn while talking on a phone, the pop star wrote to fans on socials that she had “a little surprise for you.” “‘Such a Funny Way’ is a song i am so proud of,” she continued. “The sentiment is one i always thought could really be the end of Man’s Best Friend in another universe! i didn’t want you to wait too long to have it and get to know it. it’s available for digital download now.” Now for sale on Carpenter’s website, “Such a Funny Way” can be downloaded along with the Man’s Best Friend album for $7.99. It was previously only available on the vinyl deluxe version of Man’s Best Friend, which dropped Aug. 29. The news comes shortly after the Grammy winner opened up about the inspiration behind “Such a Funny Way” on Apple Music 1 with Zane Lowe. “I interpret humor, obviously, in a light way, but it’s also used to cover something and it’s used to definitely cope with things and not always in the best way,” she said of the track. “I’ve had trouble in relationships before because people have been like, ‘Be serious.’ “So much of the time it feels maybe less mean or hurtful or spiteful to be able to just laugh about it, and that’s a good thing sometimes and sometimes it’s a bad thing,” she continued at the time. “So yeah, that one isn’t on the original version of the album, but it ends the album with the lyrics, ‘So funny that I have to laugh just so I don’t cry.’” Led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Manchild,” Man’s Best Friend marks Carpenter’s seventh album. It follows her breakthrough LP Short n’ Sweet, which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year. See Carpenter’s announcement below. a little surprise for you“Such a Funny Way” is a song i am so proud of. the sentiment is one i always thought could really be the end of Man’s Best Friend in another universe! i didn’t want you to wait too long to have it and get to know it. it’s available for digital… pic.twitter.com/XxY4IHPxZO — Sabrina Carpenter (@SabrinaAnnLynn) September 4, 2025 Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

Lauren Alaina’s multitasking skills are being tested. She starts a half-hour phone call about her current single — “All My Exes” featuring Chase Matthew — while changing diapers for her daughter, Beni Doll Arnold, born June 11. As the chat continues, she veers briefly from answering a question to talking with the baby, consoling the child through a bout with acid reflux. She never loses her place in the actual interview, though there’s little overlap between the concurrent threads. “It’s actually hilarious,” Alaina muses, “that I’m over here changing diapers and breastfeeding around the clock, and this is our current single.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news “All My Exes” isn’t a song that draws on motherly instincts — or even, one could argue, adult traits. Instead, it reflects an embarrassing public moment from a period when Alaina, now 30, was still on her own. “I was 22, 23, living in Nashville and dating other country music artists and dating other people in the business, and comedians, and all the wrong people, basically,” she says. “I wrote this song about one of those guys, getting into an argument downtown.” Not that the argument was the inspiration for “All My Exes.” Alaina wasn’t actually around when the song got started. Ben Johnson (“Bar None,” “Truck Bed”) and two pop writers, Whitney Phillips (Justin Bieber & Ariana Grande’s “Stuck With U”) and songwriter-producer Jimmy Gutch, dug in on “Exes” during a Zoom write at the peak of the COVID era in 2020 or 2021. Phillips brought in a hypnotic hook — “I ain’t saying that you’re right about me/I’m just saying all my exes would agree” — that formed the backbone for that day’s work. The “All My Exes” title naturally brought George Strait to mind. Johnson wasn’t bothered by the similarities. “Everybody already loves ‘All My Ex’s Live In Texas,’ ” he says. “I just think it’s fun to kind of flip that on its head.” They crafted a chorus and an opening verse in about two hours, building it around a slinky guitar riff with a soul-pop feel. Johnson sang on the demo with an expectation that it would turn into a guy-and-girl duet, and over the course of the next two years, several artists expressed interest in finishing “All My Exes.” “We kept rewriting the verses, trying to make it fit for different artists,” Johnson recalls. Listening back to the demo at one point, Johnson felt like it might fit Alaina, who he calls “one of my best friends.” He persuaded her to put her voice on the demo, and they subsequently agreed that “Exes” might benefit from making Alaina the lead voice and attempting to find a male collaborator to pair with her. Alaina’s then-boyfriend and now-husband, Cameron Arnold, thought it sounded like a hit and encouraged her to tackle “Exes.” Alaina and Johnson tweaked the song, and they set up a more formal writing session when Phillips was visiting Nashville. They shaped it around Alaina’s mutually headstrong breakup on Third Avenue, though phrasing made “Second Avenue” a better first-verse lyric. “I wasn’t a big go-downtown person until this six-month stretch of my life,” Alaina remembers. “I kind of mirrored this song about that fight, and he was just saying that I was too opinionated, and too loud, and too much. And I was like, ‘Well, you’re not the first to tell me this, thank you very much.’ ” Alaina and Arnold became friends with Matthew when both singers were opening acts on Jason Aldean’s 2024 Highway Desperado tour, and Arnold reached out to Matthew on his own with “Exes,” openly lobbying for a collaboration. “So Cameron A&R’d the record, basically,” Alaina says with a laugh. Matthew’s participation required yet another revision on “All My Exes.” “Once we knew Chase was going to be on it, I think Lauren and I got together and tweaked a few more things for Chase,” Johnson says. “Maybe that’s four writing sessions on it.” Producer Joey Moi (Morgan Wallen, HARDY) was spending large blocks of time in Los Angeles following the opening of Big Loud Rock, but Big Loud partner/CEO Seth England started priming him to fit in a session for “Exes” next time he was back in Nashville. They cut it at Blackbird Studio A with a small band — electric guitarist Tom Bukovac, acoustic guitarist Bryan Sutton and keyboardist Alex Wright — redoing Johnson’s demo and adding a few extra embellishments, including some Bukovac hooks that built onto the original riff. “He elaborated on it in the post-chorus, when the turn comes back around,” Moi says. “And all of the guitar melodies that are in the chorus — that’s all stuff we added in the studio.” They recorded Alaina’s vocals at Moi’s Big Loud studio in a fairly easy session. Despite the singer’s penchant for big notes, “All My Exes” called for a more restrained performance. “You don’t really have to use a ton of technique to sing this song,” Alaina says. “It’s kind of an earworm, and those songs are usually easier to sing.” It’s an approach that Moi has advocated for since she signed with Big Loud in 2022. “I’ve really preached that with her, because she always wants to do those big ad-libs,” he says. “In this climate, stylists beat powerhouses. Even in real contemporary music, it’s not powerhouse anymore. Even the powerhouses there, like Ariana [Grande], she will lean heavy on style, but she can do all the moves. Sabrina [Carpenter] is a powerhouse, but she does all of the real super-stylistic stuff.” Moi enlisted a co-producer, Jacob Durrett (ERNEST, Cole Swindell), to run a separate vocal session with Matthew in Nashville. Durrett also programmed the drum part, using 808 beats to provide a pop undercurrent beneath the country sound of the singers’ voices. They changed a lyric about Knoxville — the hometown of the guy Alaina originally referenced — to Nashville, reflecting Matthew’s residence. And while they dropped a few harmonies into the pre-chorus, the bulk of the singers’ performance was in unison in different octaves. “We tried to do harmony on the chorus, and it just felt bigger with the octaves,” Alaina says. “All My Exes” was one of five Alaina recordings that Big Loud released to digital partners in advance of her next album, and it set a personal streaming record for her in the track’s

At a time when social media rewards musicians who share their lives with the public, Japanese artist Ado is proof that mystery can also be a valuable commodity.  Explore See latest videos, charts and news The 22-year-old singer spent the spring and summer performing at arenas in 33 cities across Asia, Europe and the Americas, standing inside a see-through, cube-shaped cage that revealed only her silhouette. Without a video screen to show her face — even cameras and binoculars are strictly forbidden at her concerts — the audience focuses only on her electrifying voice and the orgy of light and graphics displayed behind her.  “I suppose one of the reasons why the people that come to my shows or listen to my music is so diverse because my style doesn’t specifically speak to a particular gender,” the 22-year-old singer tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast through an interpreter. “Perhaps it has to do with me not revealing my identity, but also my voice as well. It’s not typically feminine, and sometimes it can be even more powerful than a masculine voice.”  Although the audience could see only her silhouette, Ado was aware of her surroundings. “I see a lot,” she explains. “There’s some people out there who are jumping, and then there are others that are like laser fixed on my performance. There are little kids and they’re also older people as well. There’s a wide diversity in terms of my fans, from teenagers to older people [who] seem to love me or love my music, which I appreciate.” Ado has quickly ascended to a leading role in Japan’s push to export its music to the U.S. and other markets. Signed to Universal Music Group in 2020, Ado topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart the following year with the song “Usseewa.”  The global popularity of Japanese anime has helped Ado gain a following outside of her home country. In 2022, she was the singing voice actress for the animated film One Piece Film: Red and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart with “New Genesis” from the movie. Last year, she found a new audience as a guest on a remix of Imagine Dragons’ “Take Me to the Beach.” This year, Ado become Spotify’s most-streamed Japanese artist outside of Japan. On her recently concluded Hibana World Tour, Ado became the first Japanese artist to sell out such arenas as Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, SAP Center in San Jose, Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Uber Arena in Berlin, Accor Arena in Paris and Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Through it all, audiences know very little about her other than her music. As Ado is quick to point out, she’s not unique in hiding her identity. Anonymity is standard in Japan’s vocaloid music scene that centers around music made by a singing synthesizer software that creates vocals in the same way a person can use a digital audio workstation to create songs by dragging and dropping notes onto a screen. She grew up watching vocaloid videos on Niconico, a Japanese video sharing platform, and eventually become an utaite, a person who covers vocaloid songs. Utaite singers traditionally keep their identities a secret and use an avatar to represent their public persona.   “I thought, ‘Okay, this might be something that I can do.’ Because up until then, if I thought that if I were to sing or become a singer, it involved going on TV, showing who I was, you know, having a spotlight on myself. But being able to do this anonymously seemed to bring up endless possibilities.” Listen to the entire interview with Ado in the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, Podbean or Everand.  Source link

Are you ready for some football? Shaboozey sure is. The “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer has partnered with Amazon’s Prime Sports for “Let ‘Em Know,” a new song that will be part of the Thursday Night Football show opening and a national marketing campaign. The song — snippets of which can be heard in the commercial below and will be part of the campaign rolling out Thursday (Sept. 4) — will premiere Sept. 11 with the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders game, and will lead TNF Tonight and Thursday Night Kickoff on Prime Sports each week. This is Prime Sports’ fourth year streaming NFL games on Thursday nights. “Our collaboration with Shaboozey has produced an incredible campaign that showcases TNF as the ultimate fan experience,” Stacey Rosenson, head of U.S. sports marketing for Prime Video, said in a statement. “Shaboozey is the perfect artist to kick off TNF each week and reflects our commitment to capturing the energy of starting the weekend on Thursday nights.” Composer Pinar Toprak’s original anthem, commissioned for ‘s debut in 2022, will continue to serve at TNF’s theme music. Shaboozey’s career continues to soar. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is the longest-running No. 1 by a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 at 19 weeks. His follow-up, “Good News,” stands at No. 1 this week on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. “Let ‘Em Know” continues Shaboozey’s connection with the NFL: He performed a three-song medley at the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving halftime show in November 2024 against the Chicago Bears. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

2 Chainz has had one of the more fascinating journeys to stardom in hip-hop and has continued to be an enduring presence in the culture for nearly two decades. The Georgia native unveiled his “most personal work” to date on Thursday (Sept. 4), as he’s adding ‘author’ to his laundry list of titles with his The Voice In Your Head Is God spiritual memoir, which is set to arrive on March 3, 2026. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “I want to share the spiritual journey behind my success in a raw, uncut and motivational way,” he said in a statement, while adding that his sole mission is “to help anyone with a dream and a vision [who] struggles, or doubts their intuition… I wouldn’t be here now without that voice.” The memoir will be released by Charlamagne Tha God’s Black Privilege Publishing, which is an imprint of Atria Books. “2 Chainz’s story is a story of perseverance,” Charlamagne Tha God added. “A story of reinvention. This book will remind you that when GOD tells you to do something, it must be done, even if you have to reinvent yourself a few times to do it.” 2 Chainz gets raw and reflective in his pivotal life decisions from leaving the trap behind to pursue music and God’s role in keeping the faith to fulfill his purpose, even when he couldn’t see it. “Along the way, 2 Chainz offers more than a memoir,” a press release states. “He shares a way of thinking, of trusting yourself and of listening to the voice that never steers you wrong.” 2025 has been a busy year for the trap veteran. Chainz teamed up with The Alchemist and Larry June in February for their Life Is Beautiful joint project. Toni reunited with his relative Omar Epps for the short film Red Clay, which also had an accompanying soundtrack released in August. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

At a time when most major artists are holding their lyrical fire when it comes to protest songs taking on the norm-smashing Trump administration, as always, Neil Young is saying the quiet part out loud. Very loud, in fact, on his latest broadside against Donald Trump and his MAGA-fication of Washington, “Big Crime.” The song from Young and his Chrome Hearts band that dropped on Thursday (Sept. 4) was recorded live at a soundcheck at the group’s Chicago-area show last week and pointedly uses some of Trump’s own catchphrases and recent actions to decry what many have deemed the autocratic-like actions of the current administration. “No more great again/ No more great again/ There’s big crime in DC at the White House,” Young wails over the stomping, grungy track that opens with a flip of Trump’s signature Make America Great Again slogan before moving on to slamming the president’s recent move to flood the streets of the nation’s capital with armed troops to fight what the White House has claimed is a crime epidemic in the city. “Don’t need no fascist rules/ Don’t want no fascist schools/ Don’t want soldiers on our streets/ There’s big crime in DC at the White House,” sings Young, 79, who has been a stalwart protest song singer for more than half a century, dating back to 1970’s CSNY Kent State massacre anthem “Ohio.” Though he doesn’t mention Trump by name on the tune, the target of the lyrics is crystal clear on such lines as, “No more money to the fascists/ The billionaire fascists/ Time to blackout the system/ No more great again.” In a note on his site on Tuesday (Sept. 2), Young called the tune a “new piece of music for these strange times.” Practically alone among his generation of protest singers in speaking out against Trump, Young has not been shy lately about sharing his thoughts on the sometimes shocking actions during the former reality TV star’s second administration. “If I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” Toronto-born Young — who became dual citizen of the U.S and Canada in 2020 — wrote on his Neil Young Archives site in April in a message that appears to have since been taken down. “That is happening all the time now. Countries have new advice for those returning to America … If I come back from Europe and am barred, can’t play my USA tour, all of the folks who bought tickets will not be able to come to a concert by me,” Young worried at the time. “That’s right folks. If you say anything bad about Trump or his administration, you may be barred from re-entering USA if you are Canadian. If you are a dual citizen like me, who knows? We’ll all find that out together.” Young has hit out at Trump a number of times in the past, including when Trump used Young’s 1989 protest against injustice anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World” during first White House run in 2015-2016; Young sued Trump over his use of that song and “Devil’s Sidewalk” during the president’s failed 2020 White House bid, dropping the suit after Trump lost to President Joe Biden. After obtaining his American citizenship in 2020, Young wrote a scathing open letter to Trump, calling him a “disgrace to my country.” In May of this year, Young against vented his anger against Trump, slamming him for being “out of control” following the president’s digs at Bruce Springsteen (“highly overrated… dumb as a rock”) and Taylor Swift (“no longer ‘HOT’”). “Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America,” Young wrote at the time. “You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump. STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.” Watch the “Big Crime” video below.    Source link

In an odd year for pop music — the official song of the summer has never felt flatter, fictional K-pop bands are ruling the Hot 100 and nostalgia-mining reunions appear to be the name of the game — Tate McRae has maintained her focus. By way of her tenacity, she’s also properly cemented herself as one of contemporary pop’s reigning princesses — and the Miss Possessive World Tour is nearly two hours of stone-cold proof. Launched in support of So Close to What, her first Billboard 200 chart-topper, the Miss Possessive Tour arrived less than six months after McRae’s last arena trek, which she built around her 2023 Think Later LP. For her latest outing, McRae upped the ante on all fronts, tapping choreography powerhouse Sean Bankhead to movement direct the show and incorporating her latest string of hits, including “Sports Car,” “2 Hands” and “Just Keep Watching.” On Wednesday night (Sept. 3), Swedish pop star Zara Larsson kicked things off with a hit-packed opening set that reminded American audiences of her talent, longevity, and stamina. Shortly after, McRae strutted onto the stage to the opening notes of “Miss Possessive,” the opening track from So Close to What. Rocking a white two-piece ensemble with her blonde locks flowing behind her like a true student of Beyoncé, McRae ripped through her headlining set with professional finesse that she tempered with small glimpses into the 22-year-old underneath the glitz and glamour who’s just living out her wildest dreams. Though So Close to What anchored the setlist, the Canadian pop powerhouse made sure to show love to her entire catalog, pulling out a keyboard and a B-stage for her moodier, early breakthrough cuts like “You Broke Me First.” Closing things out with a knockout one-two punch of “Sports Car” and “Greedy,” Tate McRae dazzled Madison Square Garden on her first of three nights at the iconic NYC arena on her latest tour. Here are the five best moments of Tate McRae’s Miss Possessive Tour. “Blood on My Hands” Selfie Moment During the penultimate act of the show, Tate and her dancers marched off stage and into the crowd to execute simple hand choreography — and take a massive group selfie — with legions of adoring fans. Nearly every fan in the arena came dressed in one of three Tate-approved fashion aesthetics (leopard print booty shorts, purple lace bras and hockey jerseys), which made the selfie moment a real-time documentation of Tate’s impact on Top 40’s newest and youngest listeners. MSG Exclusives For VIP soundcheck, Tate normally peforms one song for a few lucky fans before a Q&A session. For the first Madison Square Garden show of the Miss Possessive Tour, she treated those fans to a somber cover of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season.” What’s more? For some MSG-exclusive merch, Tate opted for a hockey jersey (MSG is the home of the Rangers, after all!) that read, “We could go again like two, three, four times,” a “Sports Car” nod that also doubled as an easter egg. By the end of the Miss Possessive Tour, Tate will have headlined MSG four times across her career so far. Zara Larsson Nails Opening Set With hits like “Symphony,” “Lush Life,” “Ain’t My Fault” and “Never Forget You,” Zara Larsson has been a fixture in global pop music for years. After her opening set on the Miss Possessive Tour, the Swedish pop princess’ Stateside domination seems all but certain. A charismatic performer who studied intensely at the University of Beyoncé — every high-octane dance break was punctuated by a show-stopping belt or riff — Larsson tore through her half-hour set, which included a cover of Britney Spears’ timeless “Gimme More.” The main moment, however, was her now-viral rendition of “Midnight Sun,” the title track from her forthcoming fifth studio album, which is due Sept. 26 via Epic Records and Sommer House. The dance-pop banger is addictive on its own, but with Zara’s stunning live vocals and inventive staging (check out her nailing the song’s first chorus while being hoisted in the air by her dancers), “Midnight Sun” morphed into an all-out end-of-summer anthem. The Stage Of course, Tate McRae can work virtually any stage, but the Miss Possessive Tour stage gave her ample room to maximize her visual storytelling throughout the night. She danced atop an elevated platform to kick off the show, before taking the stairs down to the main stage, which featured a slightly downhill ramp that gave way to a runway that hosted several sultry catwalks from both Tate herself and her impressive backup dancers. At the end of the runway was yet another platform, which eventually split into five sections that each elevated to a pyramid position, adding more height dimension to the overall presentation. Tate McRae performs at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, on September 3, 2025. Beth Saravo Though the stage décor was sparse, Tate made up for that with how she maneuvered and utilized the scaffolding of the different platforms. Several on-stage cameramen followed her around with handhelds, ensuring music video-esque visuals for the larger arena whenever the stage structures blocked her from view. Finally, the smaller B-stage on the opposite end of the arena granted the crowd a small pocket of intimacy during a night that packed on the bombast. Sean Bankhead’s Choreography Dazzles Under the ambitious eye of Sean Bankhead, one of contemporary music’s most sought-after choreographers, Tate and her dancers absolutely shut down the stage at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. With choreography that featured pirouettes (a not-so-subtle nod to Tate’s professional dance background), a “Revolving Door”-soundtracked catwalk moment that recalled Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour ball section, Y2K hip-hop moves, ample hairography and a pole dancing routine, Tate effortlessly shifted through several styles of dance, never losing momentum or energy. Just as impressively, her dancers seamlessly transitioned between masculine and feminine approaches to the choreography, reminding the arena that pop stardom is truly a state of mind. Tate McRae performs at Madison Square Garden

From performing with Olivia Rodrigo at Governors Ball this summer to getting married this week, David Byrne is truly living a wild, wild life. During a Wednesday night (Sept. 3) appearance on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Talking Heads legend shared how his surprise cameo during Rodrigo’s festival set came together while touching on his upcoming nuptials with fiancée Mala Gaonkar. Describing how he and Rodrigo both wore red while performing “Burning Down the House” during her headlining Gov Ball set in June, Byrne recalled with a laugh, “She sent me a picture of her outfit and I said, ‘Oh yeah, I can match that.’” The idiosyncratic rock icon went on to share how he first crossed paths with Rodrigo on her Guts World Tour before revealing that their dance moves on stage in June were his idea. “I saw her show here at Madison Square Garden and met her — I’m a fan,” Byrne said, “And she stayed in touch.” “She said, ‘Hey, wanna join me?’” he continued of the Gov Ball team-up. “I did say, ‘Hey, if you’re in town for a couple days, maybe we can work out a little choreo.’ I had to pinch myself and go, ‘Yeah, I’m really doing this.’ “She has a great relationship with her audience,” Byrne added of Rodrigo. “Not only do they know the songs, they mean something to them.” The Tonight Show stop comes just a couple days ahead of the release of Who Is the Sky?, Byrne’s first solo album in eight years. Produced by Kid Harpoon and featuring collaborations with St. Vincent, Hayley Williams and more, the project drops Friday (Sept. 5). The album is just one reason this is a big week for Byrne. The star also recently revealed that he will be getting married to his longtime partner this week in a post on his Instagram Stories (about which he told Fallon, “Yes! I let the cat out of the bag”). “I’m getting married this week and made an almost entirely instrumental playlist while our guests eat an amazing and spicy dinner,” Byrne wrote Monday (Sept. 1) on the platform. “My sense is that words & lyrics can be distracting – the ear goes to them, especially if it’s a song one knows. So, I opted for buoyant instrumentals that will create a hopeful and joyous atmosphere… and that folks can also ignore at the same time.” Watch Byrne’s full interview with Fallon above. Source link

Cardi B has paid tribute to the late social media star Rolling Ray (born Raymond Harper), who reportedly passed away at the age of 28. Zeus Network, where Ray starred in multiple shows, confirmed his passing on Thursday (Sept. 4) in a heartfelt post to Instagram. “Gone way too soon. #RestInPeace to the BIG hearted, most Raw, & Real FRIEND & #Zeus Star #RaymondHarper aka @iamrollingray. Your Laughter, Light, & Loving Spirit will Live on FOREVER,” the network wrote. Cardi B took to X after hearing the tragic news and commended Ray for the positive changes he made in his life. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “Rolling Ray was a menace lmaoo… but he changed soo much and became so positive,” she wrote. “I know that soul made it to heaven…You will truly be missed BIG PURRRR!!!” The Bardi Gang hopped into the rapper’s replies, letting Cardi know how big a fan Ray was of her. “If you go on Rolling Ray’s page and type in your name, you’ll see how he loved you down,” one person wrote. “He was definitely a real one. PURRRRR.” The cause of death for Rolling Ray is yet to be revealed. Ray rose to prominence with viral social media clips featuring his unfiltered thoughts and personality. He appeared on the Bobby I Love You, Purrr dating show as well as Zeus’ The Conversation and featured in MTV’s Catfish, Trolls and Divorce Court. Cardi isn’t the only music superstar who is a fan of Ray. Beyoncé allegedly sent him a gift box of Ivy Park clothes along with a personal autographed note in 2020. Find Cardi’s tribute to Rolling Ray below. Rolling Ray was a menace lmaoo… but he changed soo much and became so positive. I know that soul made it to heaven…You will truly be missed BIG PURRRR!!! — Cardi B (@iamcardib) September 4, 2025 Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link