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 March 29, we look at the chances of generational rap phenom Playboi Carti and breakout pop superstar Chappell Roan to take over
Billboard is expanding its Rookie of the Month interview series by highlighting rising stars from more genres like dance and rock. But the new crop of artists emerging out of the African continent have continued making it clearer that their music can exist beyond the borders of “Afrobeats” and should not be broadly and lackadaisically
It’s been a big month for Saturday Night Live between celebrating its 50th anniversary and featuring headline-making guests such as Lady Gaga, Timothée Chalamet and others. Now, the show is ready to look to the future. On Wednesday (March 19), the long-running sketch comedy series announced its next three back-to-back shows, featuring musical guests Morgan
PlaqueBoyMax has something special with his “In the Booth” series. He’s had artists like Skepta, Cash Cobain, and went viral when Fivio Foreign made a diss song about him because Max didn’t let the Brooklyn rapper and Lil Tjay smoke in his Airbnb. The rising streamer can now add Will Smith to that list, as
MADRID — After a successful First Spanish Music Encounter at the WiZink Center in 2024, Billboard returned to Madrid on Tuesday (March 18) with “Leaders of Music in Spain,” an event that reaffirms its commitment to the country’s music scene. The cocktail event, held at the Hotel VP Plaza España Design, gathered more than a
You can take a person off of Disney Channel, but you can’t take the Disney Channel out of the person. In a hilarious TikTok video posted Wednesday (March 18), Demi Lovato demonstrated that she’s still got it a full 17 years after Camp Rock premiered, recreating an iconic move from the film that made the
Less than an hour into February’s Grammy Awards telecast, one of the evening’s undeniable peak moments occurred. Doechii — the charismatic, lyrically dexterous Florida rapper who was up for three awards that night — won best rap album, making her just the second solo female rapper (and third overall) to win the honor. “Don’t allow
Ben Stiller is ready to sit courtside with Taylor Swift again, and this time, Travis Kelce is welcome to the party. On the latest episode of the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, the actor joined as a guest and recalled how he once attended a New York Knicks game
Nick Cannon already has 12 kids, but he’s still hoping for a baker’s dozen — and maybe even a few more after that. On the latest episode of his We Playin’ Spades podcast that dropped March 17, the actor shared his stance on getting a vasectomy (spoiler: he’s against it) and affirmed that if things
BTS‘ j-hope is setting ARMY up for his latest masterpiece with a second tease of the upcoming solo single, “Mona Lisa.” The official 30-second teaser of the song due out on Friday (March 21) continues the fine art-theme of the previous sneak, which peeled back a nine-second taste of the tune’s smoothed-out R&B vibe. In