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Bia Teases New Dembow Music & Shares Touching Exchange With Wale at 2022 BET Awards

Bia had a heartfelt moment with Wale at the 2022 BET Awards Sunday night (June 26), and now the two are thinking about hitting the studio together.

Bia — who was nominated for best collaboration with the Nicki Minaj-assisted remix of “Whole Lotta Money” — overheard Wale say on the red carpet, “Look at Bia, look at Bia right now. This is one of the future of hip-hop right here. Me and [J.] Cole was on the phone talking about her a couple of months ago when ‘London’ dropped. And we were talking so highly of her — as an MC, as a songwriter,” he tells Billboard about Bia and Cole’s “London” collaboration, which peaked at No. 12 on Billboard‘s Rap Digital Song Sales chart.

“That means so much to me because you’re one of the coldest ever to do it,” she replies to the DMV MC. “It just means so much, I’m so happy to hear that!”

And a collaboration between Bia and Wale might not be too far off. “It’s inevitable, it’s inevitable, it’s inevitable,” Wale says, clasping his hands with hers, while she yelled, “We need to!” and suggested the two link up.

Bia’s already been in the studio lately, putting in the work on her debut studio album, which she says will include “a lot of fusion music.”

“I love just dipping into different genres and bringing them together,” she says. The 30-year-old Afro-Puerto Rican MC elaborated by adding that she’s currently working on a dembow single that’s prime for a summertime vibe, which she exclusively played a snippet of for Billboard. The follow-up project to 2020’s For Certaiwill also include “a little bit of rap, a little bit of R&B … maybe a little bit of Afrobeats,” teases Bia.

Additional reporting by Neena Rouhani. 

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Chloe Delivers a Sensual ‘Surprise’ at 2022 BET Awards

Chlöe Bailey showed off her “freaky side” on stage at the 2022 BET Awards on Sunday night (June 26), performing a confident, sexy rendition of her freshly released single, “Surprise.”

“If you be good to me, then I’ma be great to you/ If you stay down for me, then I’ll stay awake for you,” she sang in the chorus over a heavy bass beat, performing a seductive lap dance for one of her male dancers, while she was dressed in a strappy bodysuit.

The “Surprise” performance then transitioned into the Chloe x Halle singer’s April-released track “Treat Me,” featuring an equally envy-worthy dance sequence. “My name is Chlöe. Miss Bailey if you nasty,” she introduced the medley.

The Grammy-nominated musician has been working toward the release of her highly anticipated debut solo album since last summer. In an August 2021 interview with Billboard, she said her music aims to inspire her fans to be themselves “completely and unapologetically, no matter what the world says.”

“No matter if people are saying I’m doing too much, it’s OK, because that’s who I am,” she added. “I’m not forcing it or being anyone different. If I listened to what people said or what they told me and if I dumbed it down, that’s when I’m not being myself.”

Chlöe was nominated for best female R&B/pop artist at this year’s 2022 BET Awards, as well as video of the year and BET Her award for her 2021 hit “Have Mercy.” Her duo with her sister, Chlöe x Halle, was up for best group.

Click here for the updating winners’ list at the 2022 BET Awards.

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Diddy Honored With Surprise Kanye West Speech, Delivers Epic Performance at 2022 BET Awards

“If I gotta pay for the commercials, hit me with the bill. I got it!” That was Sean “Diddy” Combs’ proclamation a half-hour into a sprawling performance and acceptance speech for the life achievement award recipient at the 2022 BET Awards on Sunday night (June 26). Celebrating an illustrious career in the spotlight and as a hitmaker, Sean “Diddy” Combs showcased some of his biggest hits along with a slew of his famous friends and collaborators — including a surprise appearance by Kanye West — then shared some insight into his long journey while accepting the honor for the show-stopping highlight of Sunday’s telecast.

The tribute performance consisted of a full overview of Diddy’s professional and personal impact — starting with his Uptown Records days behind the scenes, as Jodeci opened the medley with a loving rendition of “Come & Talk to Me” (with Bruno Mars giddily singing along from the audience), and moving on to Mary J. Blige’s My Life smash “I’m Goin’ Down.” Diddy then crashed his own party, rattling off some rapid-fire bars from “Victory,” before kicking off the most crowd-pleasing segment of the medley — the Bad Boy era.

Shyne, the Bad Boy standout turned Belizean politician, took the stage for a very rare live performance, which then transitioned into an “It’s All About the Benjamins” showcase, featuring the LOX and an especially ferocious Lil’ Kim. Eventually, the medley landed upon the finale of “I’ll Be Missing You,” with Diddy dancing around the stage while honoring the Notorious B.I.G. and letting his emotions flow while Faith Evans brought the song home.

Babyface — who joined Ella Mai for a performance earlier in the evening — then honored Diddy with the lifetime achievement award, telling stories about his resilience and comparing his drive in the studio to that of Michael Jackson. “He made me feel like I could do anything and go anywhere, and that’s the mark of a great producer,” said Babyface.

Babyface then brought out a surprise presenter, Ye, whose face was fully covered in a ski mask, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. The artist formerly known as Kanye West waxed poetic about Diddy’s early influence and how he was Ye’s “favorite artist” growing up, to the point where he would do anything to meet him in person. “Back then, there was so many rules to hip-hop — and he broke all of them,” Ye said of Diddy, adding that he still takes career and financial advice from the lifetime achievement recipient.

Babyface and Ye then brought out Diddy to accept his award, and he started out with some celebratory exclamations before thanking God, then his mother, who was proudly watching from the audience. The extended thank-you list ranged from Andre Harrell to Cassie to Bobby Brown to Kimberly Porter, his longtime significant other who passed away in 2018.

Diddy finished his speech by championing unity among Black people and viewing togetherness as an urgent matter that transcends modern life: “We’re not just here for ourselves, we’re here for our ancestors,” he said. He also pledged to donate $1 million to Howard University, and another $1 million to Deion Sanders’ football program at another HBCU, Jackson State University.

Watch Diddy’s performance and acceptance speech below:

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Big Freedia Talks Working With Beyoncé & Watching New Orleans Bounce Music ‘Spread Out to the World’ at 2022 BET Awards

Big Freedia showed a lot of love to her fellow queen Beyoncé at the 2022 BET Awards Sunday night (June 26), after appearing on Bey’s new single “Break My Soul.”

“She’s unbelievable, she’s so humble. People think that she’s just this diva that’s a certain kind of way, but she is so sweet and so warm,” Freedia told Billboard on the red carpet at the awards show. “I love Beyoncé and all that she does and the impact that she has and the inspiration she gives all of us.”

The two previously collaborated on “Formation” on Queen Bey’s last studio album, 2016’s critically acclaimed Lemonade. Six years later, the duo reunite on Beyonce’s first single “Break My Soul” from her upcoming seventh studio album, Renaissance, which is due July 29.

On “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé samples Freedia’s 2014 track “Explode” from her album Just Be Free, which encourages listeners to “Release ya anger, release ya mind/ Release ya job, release the time/ Release ya trade, release the stress/ Release the love, forget the rest” in the pre-chorus. Freedia’s signature New Orleans bounce music is sprinkled into Bey’s new ’90s house-influenced track, but the 44-year-old singer is positive that bounce music will have a stronger impact on popular culture — and that Beyoncé isn’t the only superstar utilizing the sound Freedia helped popularize since the ’90s. 

“You’ve got people from Meg Thee Stallion to Lizzo to everybody doing bounce right now. So it has definitely impacted the culture,” she said on “culture’s biggest night.” “You got City Girls, Saucy Santana. We have definitely been putting the work and seeing it finally spread out to the world. ” 

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2022 BET Awards: Photos From the Show

The 2022 BET Awards aired live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday (June 26). Hosted by Taraji P. Henson for the second year in a row, the ceremony — billed as “culture’s biggest night” — celebrated “Black excellence.”

Doja Cat led in nominations with six, while Drake and Ari Lennox followed right behind with four each. Sean “Diddy” Combs was set to be honored with the lifetime achievement award, which will include the artist himself taking the stage for a star-studded performance set to include Mary J. Blige, Nas, Busta Rhymes and many others. (You can find the complete list of winners here.)

Lizzo, sparkling like a gold disco ball, kicked off the show with her performance of “About Damn Time.” Following that, Henson gave her opening monologue, during which she criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, lamenting that women now have fewer rights than firearms. “It’s about damn time we talk about the fact that guns have more rights than a woman,” the Empire star said. “It’s a sad day in America. A weapon that can take lives has more rights than a woman that can give life if she wants to.” She was just one of several artists to address the loss of women’s right to safe abortions.

Beyond making political statements, the stars took the stage to stun with their performances, with surprises in numerous sets. Jack Harlow brought out Brandy, with whom he had playfully beefed earlier in the year. And in one moment that brought the audience to its feet, Mariah Carey came out to sing during Latto’s set.

Keep scrolling for more moments from the show, including some that you may not have seen on TV.

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Latto Brings Out Mariah Carey for Surprise ‘Big Energy’ Remix Performance at 2022 BET Awards: Watch

Shortly after taking home the Best New Artist trophy at the 2022 BET Awards, Latto delivered one of the most memorable performances of the ceremony on Sunday night (June 26), highlighted by the surprise reveal of Mariah Carey arriving to sing through the remix of Latto’s breakthrough smash, “Big Energy.”

Latto started off the performance with a commanding presence, rolling through new single “It’s Givin” by pounding her fists, then dancing on a desk placed center stage. Naturally, she segued into her top 10 hit “Big Energy,” with Young Dirty Bastard joining the rapper to pay homage to the remix of Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” which “Big Energy” interpolates.

After delivering the first half of the single, however, Latto deferred to a silhouette positioned center stage — which then evaporated into dozens of butterflies. Sure enough, Carey was on hand for a surprise reveal, performing part of “Fantasy” and thoroughly bringing down the house at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

The performance ended with Carey and Latto embracing — one of multiple highlights for the latter on Sunday night, who took home the best new artist award. Latto became emotional while accepting the trophy, which she told the crowd was her very first award victory.

Watch the performance below:

For the second year in a row, Taraji P. Henson hosted the ceremony. Doja Cat was the top nominee with six, trailed by Drake and Ari Lennox, who earned four nominations each. Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to receive the lifetime achievement award, and will take the stage for a star-studded performance that will include Mary J. Blige, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Faith Evans, Jodeci and others.

Follow along as the victors are announced during the ceremony by checking out our 2022 BET Awards winners list, which is being updated live.

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Fans Choose Charlie Puth & Jungkook’s ‘Left and Right’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Charlie Puth‘s “Left and Right,” featuring BTS‘ Jungkook, tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (June 24) on Billboard, choosing the pair’s collaboration as their favorite music release of the past week.

“Left and Right” brought in more than 81% of the vote in this week’s new music poll.

Puth and Jungkook’s pop track — which has them crooning “Memories follow me left and right/ I can feel you over here/ I can feel you over here/ You take up every corner of my mind” — dropped on Friday, alongside a music video. Puth had promised to release the Jungkook collab if fans reached at least 500,000 pre-saves for the song — not a problem for ARMY.

Trailing behind on the poll was Taylor Swift‘s Where the Crawdads Sing tune “Carolina,” with 15% of the vote. The haunting new song was penned by Swift (and produced by Aaron Dessner) for the soundtrack of the upcoming film adaptation of the Delia Owens novel.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

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Megan Thee Stallion Leads Crowd in ‘My Body, My Motherf—ing Choice’ Chant at Glastonbury

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that protected one’s choice to have an abortion as a constitutional right, Megan Thee Stallion slammed those decision-makers onstage at Glastonbury on Saturday (June 26).

“You know it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t take a second to call out these stupid a– men,” Meg said during her set at the U.K. festival. “I mean, goddamn. What else you want?”

“Texas really embarrassing me right now — y’all know that’s my home state,” she added, giving a thumbs down to Texas. It’s expected that abortion will be illegal in at least 16 states moving forward, including Texas.

She said, “I want to have it on the record that the motherf—ing hot girls and the hot boys do not support this bulls— that y’all campaigning for.”

The rapper then encouraged the Glastonbury audience to join her in a loud chant: “My body, my motherf—ing choice!”

On Friday, Megan Thee Stallion had reacted to the Roe v. Wade ruling on Twitter, where she shared a Bans Off Our Bodies infographic and wrote, “The court has failed us all — but we won’t back down. I’m going to keep fighting because everyone deserves access to the care they need.”

Watch her Glastonbury speech below.

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Drake Achieves 11th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘Honestly, Nevermind’

Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 2), giving the superstar his 11th No. 1 on the chart. The surprise release was announced on June 16, and the album dropped at midnight on June 17. The set is a sonic left-turn from the hip-hop giant, as it is “almost entirely composed of moody electronic atmospherics and body-moving dancefloor heat” and “leans on the house music scene” with collaborations from “seven house music producers with varying degrees of mainstream fame.”

Drake becomes the fifth act with more than 10 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 since the chart began regularly publishing on a weekly basis in 1956. He joins The Beatles (who lead with a record 19 No. 1s), Jay-Z (14), Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand (each with 11).

Honestly, Nevermind launches with 204,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending June 23, according to Luminate. Streaming activity powered 94% of the album’s first week sum.

Also in the new top 10, Kevin Gates collects his fifth top 10 on the Billboard 200, as Khaza arrives at No. 8.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 2, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 28. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Honestly, Nevermind’s 204,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 191,000 (equaling 250.23 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 11,000 and TEA units comprise 2,000.

The 14-track Honestly, Nevermind bows with the fourth-largest streaming week for an album in 2022, by on-demand official streams: 250.23 million. Notably, the three larger weeks this year were all scored by albums with a longer tracklist (all in their debuts weeks): Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (356.55 million from 23 tracks), Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (343.02 million; 18 tracks) and Future’s I Never Liked You (283.75 million; 22 tracks).

In fact, the last time an album as short (or shorter) as Honestly, Nevermind had a larger streaming week was over a year ago, when Olivia Rodrigo’s 11-track Sour bowed with 300.73 million on-demand official streams (chart dated June 5, 2021).

The most-streamed cut on Honestly, Nevermind, by on-demand official streams, is its closing track “Jimmy Cooks,” featuring 21 Savage, with 39.59 million. The second-and-third-most streamed tracks are the album’s opening song “Falling Back” (27.05 million) and “Sticky” (26.16 million). “Falling” is the only song from the album with an official music video, and 3.03 million of its streams came from video plays. (Looking only at on-demand official audio streams, the two most-streamed tracks on the set are “Jimmy Cooks,” with 37.93 million and “Sticky,” with 25.37 million.)

“Jimmy Cooks” and “Sticky” are the most rap-forward cuts on the album. Combined, the two songs accounted for 26% of the album’s first-week on-demand official streams (65.75 million of 250.23 million).

In total, Honestly, Nevermind is Drake’s 14th top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200. From 2009, when he first charted, onwards, he’s logged at least one new top 10 in every year except for 2012 and 2014. Honestly gives Drake an eighth consecutive year with a new top 10 album (stretching back to 2015’s What a Time to Be Alive, with Future, and If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late – both No. 1s). No other act has notched a new top 10 in every year since 2015.

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti is a non-mover with 121,000 equivalent album units (down 8%). Un Verano Sin Ti has tallied over 100,000 in each of its first seven weeks on the chart. The last title to do so was Drake’s Scorpion, which saw its first seven weeks all exceed 100,000 units (July 28-Aug 25. 2018, charts).

Harry Styles’ former leader Harry’s House is stationary at No. 3 with 79,000 equivalent album units (down 13%), BTSProof falls 1-4 in its second week with 75,000 units (down 76%) and Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album rises 6-5 with 52,000 units (up less than 1%). Future’s former No. 1 I Never Liked You dips 5-6 with 49,000 units (down 11%), and Post Malone’s Twelve Carat Toothache descends 4-7 with 44,000 units (down 26%).

Kevin Gates nabs his fifth top 10 album on the Billboard 200 as Khaza arrives at No. 8 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 34,000 (equaling 47.05 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 3,000 and TEA units comprise less than 1,000.

Closing out the new top 10 are two former No. 1s: Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (7-9 with 36,000 equivalent album units; down 14%) and Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (8-10 with 32,000 units; up 1%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to the final calculation.

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Paul McCartney Welcomes Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen to Glastonbury Set

Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury Festival show was two years late. Fans thought it was worth the wait.

The former Beatle pulled out all the stops — and brought on big-name rock ’n’ roll guest stars — for a two-and-a-half-hour concert at the southwest England festival on Saturday night (June 25).

McCartney was due to play Glastonbury in 2020. That year’s festival and the 2021 edition were both scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, at 80, he’s the festival’s oldest-ever solo headliner.

McCartney and his band treated the huge crowd to Beatles classics like “Get Back,” “Hey Jude,” “Blackbird” and “Let it Be,” along with solo hits including “Live and Let Die” and newer material.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl came on to play “Saw Her Standing There” and “Band on the Run.” Then Bruce Springsteen and McCartney — the Boss and the Beatle — dueted on Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and the early Lennon-McCartney song “I Wanna Be Your Man.”

McCartney paid tribute to Beatles bandmate George Harrison, who died in 2001, by performing the Harrison-penned “Something.” Thanks to technology, he sang with footage of John Lennon, murdered in 1980, on “I’ve Got a Feeling.”

“I think I’ve probably just seen one of the most legendary performances ever,” fan Jake Richardson said after the show.

Actor-comedian Steve Coogan, who was also in the crowd, described the experience as “quite overwhelming.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world who can just give such unadulterated joy to people,” he told the BBC.

Glastonbury wraps up Sunday with a headline set by Kendrick Lamar.

Some 200,000 people are attending the four-day festival at Worthy Farm in southwest England, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The 3,000 performers included Billie Eilish, Ziggy Marley, Megan Thee Stallion, Foals, Olivia Rodrigo, Diana Ross, Herbie Hancock and the Pet Shop Boys.

Guests also included environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who made a passionate speech about climate change, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who addressed the festival by video on Friday.