Month: September 2023

Bad Bunny‘s new song is officially here. In his new reggaetón banger “Un Preview” — which dropped on Monday (Sept. 25) — the Puerto Rican superstar is smitten, singing about a girl that has him head over heels. “Baby, I’m no longer scared of tasting you and falling in love again … we’re crazy at the club, I get closer to you dancing, and I kiss your neck, with you, I’ll deal with fire.”

At the beginning of the music video, which has a cowboy aesthetic, Bunny explains that this song, as its name would suggest, is just a preview of what’s to come. “Ven acá,” he begins. “I’ll give you a preview of what will come after.” He expanded on that message on his WhatsApp channel where he wrote: “This is possibly the last song I release this year. It’s a little preview of what’s to come next year.”

The hitmaker officially confirmed the release date of his new song on Sunday, when he posted a 17-second snippet and wrote in Spanish, “In case you like it and are interested to know, [the song] comes out tomorrow Monday at 8 p.m. Puerto Rico time.”

“Un Preview,” produced by Tainy and La Paciencia, comes on the heels of Bunny’s “Where She Goes,” which he released in May. The Jersey Club-inspired beat (a hybrid of house and hip-hop) reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and Latin Airplay charts.

Earlier this year, Bunny also teamed up with Grupo Frontera on “un x100to,” which marked his first time dipping his toes in the norteño-cumbia realm. The song earned Frontera its highest debut on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, entering at No. 3 on the April 29-dated ranking, and later hitting No. 1 on both the Latin Airplay chart and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.

Bad Bunny is a 15-time finalist at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards, which are set to take place Thursday, Oct. 5. He is up for artist of the year, tour of the year, Global 200 Latin artist of the year and Global 200 Latin song of the year for “Titi Me Preguntó.”

Watch “Un Preview” above.

Purchase tickets today for the Billboard Latin Music Week 2023 here.

*NSYNC is back, and fans couldn’t be more excited for the boy band’s return. And according to Lance Bass, the members of the group were so excited to be back in the studio together, they all shed tears during their long-awaited reunion.

“It was pretty emotional, the first time we all got in the studio together,” Bass recalled of the recording session in a Sunday interview with Entertainment Tonight. “Back in March, we decided to, you know, get back together and have some fun and it was like no [time] had passed.

“But there was a lot of tears,” he added. “It was just tears of joy. And it was just a beautiful moment. Like, time does so much, and for us to finally be together, it just feels right.”

The boy band’s reunion comes amid the upcoming release of the third Trolls movie, Trolls Band Together. The group lent their collective talents for the soundtrack’s song “Better Place,” which will be the group’s first original song in over 20 years when it’s released on Friday. Justin Timberlake co-stars in the movie as the character Branch.

*NSYNC confirmed the reunion rumors with their appearance at the 2023 MTV VMAs on Sept. 12, where they presented Taylor Swift with the best pop award. In the time since, fans have been speculating if more new music or a tour is on the horizon, but Bass says they’ll need to sit tight for more news.

“I’ve been telling the fans, like, we don’t have solid plans right now. Because, you know, we’re waiting for the strike to end. We’ve got things to do,” Bass explained. “But [the fans are] definitely shaping our future.” (In the time since Bass’ interview, the Writers’ Guild and Hollywood studios reached a tentative agreement to end the writers’ strike, but the actors’ strike is still ongoing.)

Read Bass’ interview in full here.

On Monday (Sept. 25), Tory Lanez updated fans on his well-being while announcing the deluxe version of his 2021 album Alone at Prom.

Lanez, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last month after shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot in 2020, sounded upbeat, exuding positive energy during a minutelong voice message to his supporters on Instagram.

“Ay Umbrellas, man. What’s good? I’m talking to you live from prison right now. Man, I’m just happy to get out from that bullsh– county jail. They was hating on a young fly n—a, ya heard?” he began. “Had me on 24-hour lockdown. Half-sized cell by myself. No windows, no mirrors. Ain’t even see himself in a whole year yo.”

Over the weekend, Page Six reported that the musician is “scared for his life and safety in prison.” “He feels like he is an instant and direct target because of his celebrity status,” the source told the outlet. 

Currently, Lanez is serving his time at the North Kern State Prison in Delano, California. Despite those reports, the “Jerry Sprunger” star appeared optimistic in his message to his fans from prison.

“With all them disadvantages against me, my head has always been held high, man. And I want y’all to know I’m in great spirits. My drive and my ambition is growing stronger and stronger every day,” he said. “And I’m so proud of how y’all been moving in my support. Man, I feel like this a scary time, but don’t be afraid, man. This don’t spark no fear in my heart at all. In fact, I’m more prepared than ever. The music, the videos, and all the projects you wanted, they all ready to drop. So let’s just start with the one we want the most: the Alone at Prom Deluxe.”

Released in December 2021, Alone in Prom debuted at No. 59 on the Billboard 200 and spawned singles such as “Lady of Namek,” “’87 Stingray” and “Enchanted Waterfall.” Earlier this year, “The Color Violent” debuted on the Hot 100 and peaked at No. 63.

Check out Tory’s post below.

Usher was announced as the performer for the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, and he’s ready to give the performance of a lifetime.

Following the news of the “Yeah!” singer’s halftime show, Usher spoke with CBS Mornings on Monday (Sept. 25) and revealed that performing for the big game is something he’s hoped for since the beginning of his career.

The Grammy winner kicked off the interview by revealing the phone call he had with Jay-Z after finding out he was slated to be next year’s Super Bowl performer.

“It’s a surprise that no one in the house can know,” he shared, setting the scene. “So my kids don’t know, my mom can’t know, my brother can’t know, my family can’t know and I gotta keep this a secret. So Jay-Z calls and he’s like, ‘It’s your time. This the magic moment.’ My girlfriend is there. … I’m like, ‘It’s happening’ and she’s like ‘No way’ and he’s like ‘Way.’ The hardest part is the suspense and keeping it a surprise for that time, because my kids were like, ‘Dad, you should play the Super Bowl! There’s a petition online!’ You know what? You gotta speak these things into existence. We knew literally days before the announcement.”

Playing the Super Bowl has been a dream for Usher that he’s worked diligently to make happen. “Thirty years ago I made a commitment to offer my best, and here 30 years later, now it’s being rewarded with one of the most prestigious performances and stages anybody could ever play on,” he said.

The Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper continued, “I’m humbled by the opportunity to do that, but I’m more happy to be able to celebrate with the people I love the most and celebrate in a way that people will remember through dance, through skate, though collaborations, so it’s gonna be a night of celebration. Every aspect of what has influenced me to be the artist that I am, I’m gonna try to bring that out in that moment,” noting that playing the Super Bowl “is a moment that I’ve waited my entire life for and I’m not coming to disappoint.”

While waiting for Usher to take one of the world’s biggest stages, see Billboard‘s dream setlist for his set, and vote for who you think should perform with him at the Super Bowl.

Watch Usher’s new interview in full below.

Joe Jonas and Sophie turner have come to a temporary truce. The former couple has agreed to keep their two young daughters in New York City for the time being, according to an interim consent order filed Monday (Sept. 25) and obtained by Billboard. The agreement comes amid a custody dispute.

The filing notes that neither party is allowed to remove their daughters from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, which includes New York City and Long Island.

The Game of Thrones actress had filed a lawsuit on Sept. 21 in New York against the Jonas Brothers singer, alleging that he had “wrongfully retained” their two young daughters — Willa, 3, and a 14-month-old who has only been identified by her first initial, D — and also accusing him of not giving her the children’s passports and refusing to return the kids to her so that they could return with her to England. Turner also claimed in her filing that prior to their split, the couple had agreed to make England their “forever home.”

Billboard has reached out to Jonas and Turner’s reps for comment.

In a statement shared with Billboard later that day of the custody filing, a rep for Jonas denied all of Turner’s allegations. “Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also OK with the kids being raised both in the U.S. and the U.K.,” the rep said at the time, noting that two had met before her filing and that they had agreed to work on an “amicable” plan for co-parenting their children. “This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending.”

Jonas filed for divorce on Sept. 5, with his petition stating that “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken.” In her custody filing, Turner alleged that she was blindsided by him, and that she had learned of his filing via media reports. Jonas’ rep denied this claim to Billboard.

Turner and Jonas married in May 2019.