entertainment blog
Issa Rae, Spike Lee, ‘Wakanda Forever’ Cast Honored at Ebony Power 100 Gala
“Moving Black Forward” was the theme marking this year’s return of Ebony Media Group’s signature event, the Ebony Power 100. Personifying that mission in celebration of Black excellence were the special awards presented Saturday night (Oct. 29) at Milk Studios in Los Angeles. Among the honorees: Issa Rae, Spike Lee and the cast of the upcoming film sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Prior to the gala/special award presentations, Ebony Media Group had earlier announced its 100 Power honorees encompassing business, entertainment, science and technology. Among 2022’s Black trailblazers were artists Usher, Tems and H.E.R., Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) and TikTok in...
Fans Choose BTS Member Jin’s ‘The Astronaut’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music
Jin‘s latest solo single “The Astronaut” has topped this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Oct. 28) on Billboard, choosing the BTS superstar’s upbeat pop-rock song as their favorite new music release of the past week. “The Astronaut,” co-written by Jin and Coldplay, beat out new music by Rihanna (“Lift Me Up”), SZA (“Shirt”), Dove Cameron (“Bad Idea”), Polo G (“Bag Talk”), and others. Jin’s latest offering, which features the K-pop idol singing in both English and Korean, features wistful lyrics about a love that transcends earthly limitations. The track reveals the stadium-sized rock sound that Coldplay is known for as a perfect bed for Jin’s steady, soothing vocals. The singer’s past solo work (“Awake,” “Epiphany”) has proven that he can bring raw emotio...
Jack Harlow as ‘SNL’ Host: Watch His Monologue & All His Sketches
Jack Harlow pulled double duty as host and musical guest of SNL and was part of an episode with some of the most memorable sketches of this season of Saturday Night Live, so far. As host of Oct. 29’s Saturday Night Live, he set the scene for the night ahead with a laid-back monologue that showed he has no problem playing around and making fun of himself. Bringing up some of the top jokes about himself he’s seen on the internet, Harlow said, “One guy said, ‘I don’t know why y’all think Jack Harlow is so special. You can find somebody who looks like him at any local gas station.” “I’ve heard them say I look like ‘If you tried to draw Justin Timberlake from memory,’” he recalled. The rapper added, “I think my favorite one might be ‘Jack Harlow looks like the guy who rips the tickets in ...
Cardi B Wants a Third Kid: ‘I Can’t Wait’
Cardi B and Offset have two kids together, and Cardi seems to be planning for a third. Already a mom to 4-year-old Kulture and 1-year-old Wave, she mused over adding another baby to the family on Twitter Sunday (Oct. 30). Cardi shared three new photos of baby Wave with fans this weekend, gushing, “My son so fire.” “I can’t wait to get business finish and have my third,” the rapper revealed in her tweet. Fans left supportive messages in the comments, though some suggested that they’d really love to hear a new album before the Invasion of Privacy hitmaker focuses on expanding her family. “Nah sis, we need that album first!” one wrote. The hip-hop power couple, who got married in 2017 and had a few bumps in the road over the years, welcomed Kulture on July 10, 2018 and Wave on Sept. 4, 2021. ...
Free Thinker Kyrie Irving Stands By Suspect Tweet, Not Going To “Stand Down”
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Elsa / Getty Kyrie Irving is going to Kyrie Irving. The superstar NBA point guard with the questionable social media decision-making skills is mired in controversy due to one of his latest tweets, and apparently, he’s not backing down. In case you need to get up to speed, Irving shared a tweet on Thursday (Oct. 27) of ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,’ with a link to purchase the film (it’s still up) and the doc is widely described as antisemitic, or at least per Rolling Stone. Considering the spiral everyone is witnessing with Kanye West due to his antisemitic rhetoric, the timing of the tweet couldn’t be any worse. Nets owner Joe Tsai took to Twitter the next day to essentially slam Irving for the tomfoolery, and the NBA would issue a st...
Diddy Dressed Up As Heath Ledger’s The Joker For Halloween, Twitter Approves
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: @Diddy / Instagram You can tell that Sean “Diddy” Combs goes all in for Halloween. This year, the Hip-Hop mogul got dressed us as The Joker of Batman infamy, and he absolutely snapped. The man known as Love took his aesthetic cues from Heath Ledger’s version of the Clown Prince of Crime from The Dark Knight Rises. If you didn’t know it was Diddy, who wouldn’t know it was Diddy. Even crazy ass himself Tyler, The Creator was smiling in appreciation. “This is top tier,” said Tyler after bumping into Joker Diddy while in an SUV. The laugh does need a bit of work, though. And in other news, Diddy is now officially a billionaire—after replacing Kanye West on the list. Cold world. See more reactions below. 5. For any haters in the back…
Taylor Swift Scores 11th No. 1 Album With Midnights, Achieving Highest Sales in Almost 7 Years
Taylor Swift has, for the 11th time, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with massive first-week sales, Billboard reports. Midnights has sold more than a million copies since its release last Friday, including more than half a million vinyl sales, thanks in part to an array of sleeve designs that encouraged fans to purchase multiple copies. Its total of 1.578 million equivalent album units makes it the biggest-selling album in almost seven years, including the most physical sales since Luminate began tracking them in 1991. The last album to achieve larger first-week sales was Adele’s 25, which debuted with 3.482 million units in December of 2015. As of now, Swift ties Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums among female artists. She is also the sixth musician with more than 10 N...
K-Pop Events, New Music Releases Canceled & Postponed in Light of Seoul Halloween Stampede
Multiple K-pop-related events and new music releases have been canceled or postponed following a national tragedy in South Korea where more than 150 people, so far, have lost their lives in a crowd crush at Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood during Halloween weekend. The New York Times reports that officials do not know what caused the disaster that’s left dozens killed and injured. South Korean president Yoon Sukyeol declared a period of national mourning following the incident through Saturday, Nov. 5. Since the tragedy, the Korean-pop industry has announced several cancelations of scheduled events and postponements of upcoming music releases. Artists including BTS, Roy Kim, fromis_9, Oh My Girl, Tomorrow X Together, Stray Kids, Park Jihoon, The Boyz, Yuju, DKZ, Wonho, ENHYPEN, StayC, aespa, P...
ENHYPEN, PSY, Jessi, G-Dragon & More South Korean Artists React to Deadly Crowd Surge in Seoul
The South Korean music community is mourning the loss of more than 150 people who died during a crowd surge in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood on Saturday (Oct. 30). ENHYPEN, PSY, Jessi, G-Dragon and many others took to social media over Halloween weekend to offer their condolences to the families and loved ones of those impacted by the tragic event, which left dozens other injured. “My heart is heavy with the sad news from Korea,” K-pop group ENHYPEN tweeted on Saturday. “We pray for the well-being of the deceased, and we also offer our condolences to the bereaved families and acquaintances who have lost loved ones.” PSY also shared a thoughtful note on his Instagram Story. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who have been affected by the tragic accident in Itaewon,” the “Gangnam Sty...
Jack Harlow Brings Disco Vibes to ‘SNL’ With Performances of ‘Lil Secret’ & ‘First Class’: Watch
Jack Harlow performed songs from his latest album while pulling double duty as host and musical guest during Saturday Night Live on Oct. 29. In between his comical sketches, the Louisville rapper delivered three tracks from his sophomore album, Come Home the Kids Miss You, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in May. For his first song, with an introduction from Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, Jack brought some major 1970s disco vibes for a split performance of “Lil Secret” and “First Class,” the latter of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. Dressed in a cream-colored jacket and matching turtleneck, the 24-year-old rapper slid smoothly across the multi-colored checkered dance floor with a shiny disco ball hanging above and surrounded by dancers. Explore Ex...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (October 29)
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Becky G & Latin Grammys Join Forces Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Becky G and the Latin Grammys are teaming up to encourage Americans to make sure they are registered to vote. The Mexican-American pop singer, who’s also co-chair of When We All Vote, will gift one lucky fan the opportunity to fly to Las Vegas for a meet-and-greet and tickets for two to the Latin Grammy Awards on Nov. 17. Participants can apply for the When We All Vote “Meet Becky G” Sweepstakes by clicki...
Bono Tells Taylor Swift He’s a ‘Swiftie’ on ‘Graham Norton Show’
Will Taylor Swift and Bono collaborate on a song someday? Graham Norton brought up the idea of the stars working together when they both appeared on the same episode of The Graham Norton Show in the U.K. on Friday (Oct. 28). Bono was promoting his new book, Surrender, while Swift was invited to the show to speak about her new album, Midnights. “Have you worked together?” Norton asked the pair. “Not yet,” Swift replied, but added: “We’re gonna talk about it later.” Swift might have been teasing the audience — but based on the U2 frontman’s enthusiasm for her work, the potential idea might not be completely out of the question. “I’m a Swiftie,” Bono announced. Touched by that statement, Swift put her hand to her heart. “He’s so nice he sent me roses when I played in Dublin,” Swift said. “He ...
