Cardi B is having the final say in her Twitter feud with fellow rapper Akbar V.

Following online jabs back and forth between the duo, including some comments by Akbar bringing up the rumor that Cardi’s husband Offset had cheated on her with rapper Saweetie, the “I Like It” star took to Instagram on Monday (Sept. 26) to share a sultry photo with her man.

“I fight for my b—-es and I’m fighting over d— too,” she captioned a photo set, in which she’s seen with her hand on Offset’s chest, as the Migos rapper leans against a door frame. Cardi is wearing a a satin black maxi dress that exposes a size-able portion of her bottom.

The tension between Cardi and Akbar V seemed to have bubbled over when Cardi began celebrating that the music video for her GloRilla collab “Tomorrow 2” garnered 6 million views on YouTube. In response to what seemed to be some subtweeting about the accomplishment on Akbar V’s part, Cardi tweeted, “I don’t really like the internet games …My dms is open and also the streets!” and “I don’t gotta @ I can change a bi— life just by a mention….AND YES I HIT THEM DIRECTLY ,I don’t do the internet!!”

While screenshots showed that Cardi reached out to Akbar privately and cleared things up, the duo began trading insults on Twitter about having kids, chart success and the Offset cheating allegations. “I hate a h-e that throw rocks and hide their hands ..been subtweeting me for months and now you wanna make it about another woman as a shield. Stand on your sh–!!!” Cardi tweeted.

Even Offset himself got involved after Akbar claimed he called her, and shared what she thought was his phone number. Her original tweet was then taken down for violating the platform’s rules. “Bi— that’s not my number, why would I call you when bi— already handling you lame a– h-e,” Offset wrote.

Spotify is vowing to remove racist, anti-semitic and other hate content from its platform following a new report that says music from a number of white supremacist acts is “prevalent” on the streaming service.

The report, published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday (Sept. 22), found a total of 40 white supremacist acts hosted on Spotify, violating the platform’s rules against “dangerous content.” According to the report, “extremist” musical sub-genres encompassed by these artists include Fashwave, electronic music that espouses white supremacist ideology; Rock Against Communism, a sub-genre of punk that promotes racism and antisemitism; and National Socialist Black Metal (NBSM), a sub-genre of metal that espouses fascism and white supremacy.

The ADL noted that several of these acts — many of which it says shared links to “other extremist spaces” directly in their profiles — are “verified” artists on Spotify, giving them license to use the service’s built-in tools to help surface their music on playlists (the verification process is automatic once an artist claims their profile via the Spotify for Artists portal.) To cite one example, the report claimed that a keyword search on Spotify for the term “Fashwave” alone turned up a total of 72 playlists created by Spotify users, with titles including 14/88 (a white supremacist code) and Right Wing Death Squad. It also highlights instances of Spotify-generated algorithmic playlists curated for individual users that incorporate white supremacist content.

In February 2022, the ADL published a separate report that found Spotify’s platform rules were lacking and “loosely defined,” leading Spotify to update those rules to add “a much more explicit anti-extremism policy,” according to the new report. But the organization alleges those rules “do not appear to be strictly enforced” and notes that users wishing to flag such content can only do so on the Spotify desktop app, with the mobile version lacking similar functionality. (Spotify confirms it’s working on adding a reporting method to the mobile app.)

“Despite adding explicit anti-extremist guidelines to their content policy, Spotify allows extremist content to flourish,” the Sept. 22 report reads. “Between the extremist content found in some artists’ bios, the white supremacist messaging in some band’s lyrics and the white supremacist imagery found in the cover art, Spotify still has considerable work to do in implementing its new policy.”

Spotify’s current platform rules prohibit content “that incites violence or hatred towards a person or group of people based on race, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, disability or other characteristics associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization.” This includes “praising, supporting, or calling for violence against a person or group of people based on the characteristics listed above”; “dehumanizing statements about a person or group based on the protected characteristics listed above”; and “promoting or glorifying hate groups and their associated images, and/or symbols.”

In a statement to Billboard regarding the ADL report, a Spotify spokesperson says the company “takes content concerns very seriously, and we leverage a variety of algorithmic and human detection measures to ensure that all of the content on our platform is in keeping with our Platform Rules.” These measures include a team of in-house “experts” that “regularly reviews and takes action against violative content on our platform.”

Since Jan. 1, the spokesperson claims that over 12,000 podcast episodes, 19,000 playlists, 160 music tracks and nearly 20 albums that violate Spotify’s policies against hate content globally have been removed, including “much of the content” referenced in the most recent ADL report. But Billboard‘s own search on Monday (Sept. 26) found multiple playlists labeled “Fashwave,” “Rock Against Communism” and “NBSM,” as well as the music of acts mentioned in the report, including IronMensch, Elessar, OBNX, Kushfrost and Mayhem. In response, Spotify says its teams “reviewed all of” the content flagged by ADL and “took action on those that violated” its platform rules.

“We recognize that even with our continued innovation and investments when it comes to moderation, there is always more work to be done,” the spokesperson added. “For this reason, we established the Spotify Safety Advisory Council to help ensure our policies, enforcement mechanisms, and partnerships address the needs of our community of global users, creators, and artists. We also remain open to engaging in a dialogue with organizations, including the ADL, so that we might benefit from their expertise and continue to improve the safety of our platform.”

Established in June, the Spotify Safety Advisory Council includes individuals and organizations who have been tasked with helping the platform “evolve its policies and products in a safe way while making sure we respect creator expression,” according to a press release at the time. “Our council members will advise our teams in key areas like policy and safety-feature development as well as guide our approach to equity, impact, and academic research,” though they do not make enforcement decisions about specific content or creators. Founding members and partner organizations on the council include the Dangerous Speech Project, represented by professor Susan Benesch and Tonei Glavinic; the Center for Democracy and Technology, represented by Emma Llansó; and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, represented by Dr. Katherine Pieper and Dr. Stacy L. Smith.

The problem of hate content isn’t new to Spotify. In 2017, the company removed a number of white supremacist acts that had been designated as racist “hate bands” by the Southern Poverty Law Center after a Digital Music News investigation turned up more than two dozen on the platform. And while the ADL report specifically targets Spotify — a prominent target given its status as the largest music streaming service globally — it’s not the only platform that has been criticized for hosting hate content. In 2020, a BBC investigation found “racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic content” hosted on multiple services, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Deezer, leading all four companies to take steps to remove it.

Life has been good for David Guetta and Bebe Rexha in recent weeks, though they’re no sure bet to retain the U.K. singles chart crown.

Guetta and Rexha’s hit “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Parlophone) faces a stiff challenge from Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), which powers to No. 2 on the midweek chart.

Following the first 48 hours in the chart week, just a “handful of units” separated the two singles, the OCC reports, with “I’m Good (Blue)” still at the top of the leaderboard.

Also noteworthy on the Official Chart Update is Luude and Mattafix’s “Big City Life” (Warner Records), which is on track for a 10-7 lift, for what would be a new peak, while homegrown grime star Stormzy should grab his 25th top 40 appearance with “Mel Made Me Do It” (0207/Merky). The seven-minute tune is storming to a No. 13 debut.

Over on the albums chart blast, D-Block Europe leads tight race with Lap 5, which could give the London hip-hop act its first chart leader.

At this early stage, nothing is certain.

Take That founding member Mark Owen is just 1,000 chart units adrift in second place with Land of Dreams (BMG), his first solo record in nearly a decade, while Australian pop-rock act 5 Seconds Of Summer’s fifth album 5SOS5 (BMG) is close behind at No. 3 on the midweek survey.

Less than 1,600 units separate D-Block Europe’s latest from Sports Team’s Gulp! (Island), which debuts at No. 4 on the Official Chart Update.

Also, look out for top ten finishes for Editors (EBM, currently at No. 6 via PIAS Recordings) and Beth Orton (Weather Alive, at No. 8 via Partisan) when the chart is published this Friday.

Lionfish Entertainment founder/CEO Rebecca Leon sits down with Hans Schafer, Live Nation SVP global touring, Marc Ventosa, director of booking for LAST TOUR and artists Wisin and Yandel to discuss how Latin and Spanish stars are conquering international markets with their live performances.

Rihanna is headlining the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show, and last year’s headliner, Dr. Dre, has some words of wisdom for her.

Dre spoke with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1 on Sunday (Sept. 25), soon after Rihanna’s news was announced. Apple Music was recently named the official sponsor of the annual event.

“Oh, my god,” said Dre, who took the Super Bowl stage last year. “Let me tell you something, man. I actually just got the news that Rihanna’s going to do it, and I’m a super fan of Rihanna. I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do. “

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“I just like her and what she does, and her get down, and how she approaches her artistry and the whole nine. It’s fantastic. She has the opportunity to really blow us away. I know we set the bar extremely high,” he added.

His advice to the next Super Bowl Halftime star?

“Put the right people around you, and have fun,” said Dre. “That’s basically what it is, making sure you have the right creative people around you. She might want to look into some of the people that we used to do our show.”

The rapper admitted that his own epic performance at the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show — where he was joined by EminemSnoop DoggMary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, plus surprise guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak — made him “extremely nervous.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been that nervous before,” he said. “Not only that, I don’t know if I’ve ever looked more forward to a Monday morning. So it’s the preparation and making sure you have the right people around you. All of these people came through for me, and everybody was extremely enthusiastic about the show. We had a good time, although it’s a lot of things and a lot of people you have to depend on. You’re talking about at least 3,000 people that you have to depend on to get this show right for 13 minutes. So it is an extreme amount of pressure, but it’s fun at the same time. When it’s done, it’s like goosebumps, bro. I got goosebumps, especially from the reaction that we got from the show, and especially being able to do the show with all of my friends.”

Super Bowl LVII will take place on Feb. 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

This year’s telecast will be produced by DPS, executive produced by Roc Nation and Jesse Collins and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Roc Nation will also serve as strategic entertainment advisors for the live performance.

San Francisco’s Portola Festival at the city’s Pier 80 experienced a crowd issue Saturday (Sept. 24) when a large group of people rushed an early evening set by English producer Fred Again.

The incident at the site occurred around 5 p.m. on the festival’s opening day. Video shared to social media shows members of the crowd jumping over the barricade surrounding the event’s Warehouse stage, a large enclosed space with two separate entrances for general admission and VIP attendees.

The crowd waiting to get in through the GA entrance began gathering outside the Warehouse roughly 30 minutes before Fred Again’s set was scheduled to begin. As the crowd ballooned in size, a large throng of people bottlenecked at the GA entrance, with many of them unable to get inside and with some members of this crowd then jumping over the barricade to gain entrance. According to festival promoter Goldenvoice and its owner AEG, no one is was injured. 

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“There was a minimal, isolated issue with a festival stage entrance yesterday,” a representative for Goldenvoice parent company AEG says in a statement. “This occurred within the confines of the grounds and was quickly addressed and corrected. There were no reported injuries and the festival continued for another six hours without incident.”

The festival also reported no incidents of gate-crashing and no on-site arrests during the first day of the two-day event, which is hosting its debut event this weekend.

On social media, festival attendees took aim at Portola regarding crowd flow issues primary concerning the Warehouse stage, a permanent structure located on Pier 80, a shipping pier at the San Francisco Bay. Portola features an outdoor mainstage, two tents and the Warehouse space.

Portola’s day one lineup included Flume, Kaytranada, Fatboy Slim, Arca, Jamie xx, Jungle and Bicep. The festival continues Sunday (Sept. 25) with The Chemical Brothers, SG Lewis, Duke Dumont, James Blake, The Blessed Madonna, Four Tet and more.

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) honored David Foster, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, Alanis Morissette and francophone legend Daniel Lavoie Saturday night (Sept. 24) at a gala ceremony at Toronto’s Massey Hall that highlighted their incredible hit-stacked careers, influence and legacy.

Hosted by platinum-selling Quebec singer-songwriter Marie-Mai, the three-and-a-half-hour show included tribute performances by such artists as Corey Hart, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake, Alessia Cara, JP Saxe, Charlotte Cardin, Jessie Reyez, Serena Ryder and Chicago’s Neil Donell, backed by a house band.

Deborah Cox — the 2022 inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame — kicked off the ceremony with a showstopping rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” written by Foster and Linda Thompson for The Bodyguard soundtrack.

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“It was a song that inspired me to write ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ that landed my own recording deal and got me signed,” she said from the stage. “So had it not been for you and your incredible music, I would not be standing here tonight.”

Her words epitomized an evening filled with praise for the inductees from other songwriters, most of them younger, writing and building on their own catalogue of hits. Serena Ryder — who performed a spot-on version of “You Oughta Know” — told Morissette her songs allowed her to “speak from a place of authenticity and truth.”

Foster, who was inducted into the New York-based Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010, was the first inductee of the night, “once known as the guy who drove Ronnie Hawkins’ tour bus,” Marie-Mae reminded us, who went on to pen hits for Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire and many more, and collect 16 Grammys. Fellow inductee Bryan Adams did the honors (Foster would later reciprocate), calling him “a superb creative legend in the Canadian music industry” with “as much talent as anyone has ever existed here.”

“He’s a musician, producer, performer, artist, label head and songwriter — and publisher too probably. Thank goodness he can’t sing; he’d be a f—in’ nightmare,” Adams’ quipped.

“Nevertheless, his talents are limitless. He’s somebody we all admire and appreciate for his contributions to the music world and philanthropy. I mean, he’s brilliant — and he’d be the first person to tell you himself. Here he is: David Foster.”

Foster, it is true, is not the most humble when it comes to his skills, and rightly so, but does have a sense of humor, used his acceptance speech time to say thank you to some instrumental people to his career, co-writers, managers, arrangers, label execs — and to Canada.

“That’s one of the great things about this country, this incredible community of artists and performers. We support each other. We raise each other up, and to be recognized here, in such exceptional company, is a great honor,” he said, later adding, “To come home and be recognized for songwriting, it’s really the highest praise a musician can hope for.”

Foster then launched into a quick story about his fear of elevators (“Fosterophobia,” he called it) in a tangent; one wasn’t sure where it was going.  “A friend and great Canadian said, ‘You know why you don’t go in elevators? Because you’re afraid you’ll hear your own music in there,’” he said to roars from the mostly industry crowd. “I get it. It’s not Alanis. It’s not Bryan. It’s wallpaper music. It’s middle of the road. The kind of songs you play for your grandmother. I say ‘popular,’ but you can say whatever you want. It’s the music I hear and it’s the music that comes through my hands when I sit and play at the piano. I didn’t choose my sound; my sound chose me.

“And for the record,” he added. “I do love all kinds of music: Drake, Bieber, The Weeknd, Bublé — they’re all killin’ it — and they’re all uniquely” — he paused, his arms stretched out wide, as if conducting — and the audience yelled back “Canadian” along with him.

Morissette was next. Marie-Mae said she “has redefined the role and image of a female pop star,” while Jessie Reyez, who performed “Ironic,” lauded, “You contribute so f—in’ much to Canadian heritage and Canadian musicianship and making me feel at home in my imperfections.”

But the person CSHF brought in to induct Morissette is actually American, 19-year-old pop singer Olivia Rodrigo, not even born when Jagged Little Pill came out in 1995. The pair met last year for a Rolling Stone cover shoot. Rodrigo told the room she was 13 when she first heard that classic release.  “My life was completely changed. Alanis’ songwriting was unlike anything I’d ever heard before and I haven’t heard anything quite like it since. And that voice — fierce and tender and sometimes funny and playful. I became hooked for life.”

“Alanis captured the anger, the grief and the love of the human experience better than anyone. Her songs unite people and empower people and help them heal. Alanis, you’re a trailblazer and you’ve inspired an entire generation of uncompromising, radically honest songwriting. But even more than your long list of musical achievements, I look up to your character and your kindness most of all,” she said.

“If they had a Hall of Fame for being the most incredible human being with the biggest heart, I’m 100 percent positive you’d be inducted into that one as well,” Rodrigo added.

Morissette, whose speech ran 12 minutes, top and tailed it with a story of wanting to be a writer when she was just six years old. In between, she said, “I don’t want to be too precious about what it is to be a songwriter because there is an element of songwriting that is really non-precious and very stream consciousness.” She says her kids run around the house singing to her, instead of talking. (“I do hit record sometimes.”)

“The songwriting process for me is just so hyper present. It’s like a receptivity muscle that has to be cultivated because I hate writing, by the way; it’s the worst. So when I sit down to write, it’s that sort of daunting, torturous excitement, giddiness, and it’s incumbent upon me to just stop and listen and then hear it, heed it, write it, share it,” Morissette explained. “So when I write it, it’s for me, but when I share it, it’s yours. It’s everyone else’s to interpret as they will.” As an example, she recalled, bemused, of one lady who told her she loved “that song about being in love with your lesbian teacher,” and it was not her place to correct her.

She said she feels that writers and songwriters “mark a feeling that’s really intangible and hard to describe” and that she feels like “a distiller.” She credited Jagged Little Pill collaborator Glen Ballard and the late Tim Thorney for making her feel safe enough to express herself.

She ended her speech by actually reciting the lyric to the first song she wrote (and recorded) at age 6, called “Lungs.” “If that’s not the birth of a legend, I don’t know what is,” she said with a laugh.

After a 15-minute intermission, Manitoba-born francophone artist Daniel Lavoie was feted. His career spans 50 years and 24 albums, and he has written songs for Celine Dion and Nana Mouskouri, among others. His new album is No. 1 in Quebec this week. Fellow Hall of Famer Jim Corcoran inducted his friend, saying 1984’s hit “Ils s’aiment” “alone places Daniel Lavoie high in the tower of song, and that’s why he’s being honored here tonight.” He added that in the late ’90s, in France, “by popular demand” the single “was proclaimed the song of the century.”

“Now Daniel, I don’t want to rain on your parade, but you know more than anybody in this hall that the French are inclined to exaggerate,” Corcoran joked, adding, “On every one of his albums, there are profoundly poetic lyrics and beautifully inspired moments.”

Lavoie did his first acceptance speech in French, and then English. “I did go through 50 some years of songwriting and I realized something I hadn’t realized before — most of us who practice this craft with a good amount of passion, well most of us know how to write a good song. You give us a good subject and a couple of days and maybe a glass of wine or a joint, and we will write a good song. None of us — maybe David Foster excepted — none of us knows how to write a great song. The great songs are decided by you — the public.”

“You decide which of our good songs become great songs, and great songs are important because the great songs are the ones that pull us out of poverty and get us to meet celebrity and get us to make speeches like this at great soirees.”

Capping the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inductions was the masterful pop songwriting team of Adams and Vallance, honored together, but inducted separately, since they both have distinct and thriving solo careers.  

The two met in 1978 at a musical instrument shop in Vancouver; Adams was 18. They worked seven days a week, 12-hour days in Vallance’s basement studio. And yet it took eight years to get their first No. 1 hit, and then their success was meteoric, particularly with 1984’s Reckless which was six singles deep, including “Run to You,” “Summer of ‘69” and “Heaven.” Still working together, they penned the score for Pretty Woman: The Musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2018, and they have three songs together on Adams’ 15th and latest studio album, So Happy It Hurts.

Vallance has also written songs for Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Joan Jett, Heart, Glass Tiger, Anne Murray and the Go-Gos. Adams has 20 Juno Awards, five Golden Globe nominations and three Academy Award nominations.

Vallance was inducted by Lawrence Gowan, a solo artist and frontman for Styx. They wrote two songs together. Gowan recalls suggesting they could writing something “on the fringes and a little esoteric.” But Gowan recalls Vallance “refreshingly, bluntly said, ‘Um, well, I’m interested in the top 10.” Added Gowan, “Jim has lived and triumphed by that credo all his life” and “never once have I ever heard him sing his own praises.”

Vallance kept his speech relatively short. He said he knew he wanted to be a songwriter after seeing The Beatles in 1964 on Ed Sullivan. “60 years later I feel blessed to say music is the only job I’ve ever had. I didn’t do it it alone. I’ve had the good fortune to collaborate with and learn from some amazing artists, producers and songwriters. They taught me to dig deep, work hard and set the bar high.” But meeting Adams “changed everything,” he says. “18 years old, talented and tenacious. The only direction he acknowledged was up and I was ready to go on that ride with him.”

Adams, whose video tribute included lovely words from is “When You’re Gone” featured singer Melanie C (“you put so much confidence in me that that helped me go forward and have my own solo career”), was likewise inducted by Foster, who called him “the groover from Vancouver,” although born in Kingston. “You know how you can tell an icon from a pop star? You can recognize him by just their silhouette,” Foster said.

“These soulful ballads, and rock songs about heartache, longing and yearning for simpler times struck a chord with the public and would come to define the Adams-Vallance sound,” he said, noting that “sound reached zenith” on the milestone album, Reckless, “every song a perfectly crafted gem.” “I know for Bryan, success means waking up and getting to do it all again, write a song, record a song and hit the road again.” He’s currently on tour behind So Happy It Hurts.

Adams, who did get more “I love yous” yelled from the balcony than the other inductees, save maybe Corey Hart, congratulated all the other recipients, and praised the tribute musicians and house band. He watched all the performances, tapping his foot and often giving a standing ovation.

“The best advice I ever got as a songwriter came from a guitarist I was working with when I was at teenager,” Adams said. “This was when I was playing clubs and this was when I was about 16. It seemed to me the best way to get out of the sh-tty clubs and into the better sh-tty clubs was to have original music, so I said to him, ‘Man, we should write our music.’ And he looked at me and he said, ‘Yeah! — You do it!” he recounted to laughter.

“I want to acknowledge that songwriting for me has always been a team effort. So thanks to all my collaborators, Mutt Lange and Elliott Kennedy and Gretchen Peters. And the thing that makes me most happy about tonight about receiving this award is seeing my great friend Jim Vallance be properly honored. Seriously, I met Jim, as you heard, at a music shop in Vancouver not long after the advice I’d been given, and I still don’t understand why Jim thought it would be a good idea to work with me because I hadn’t done anything. I was just 18 and I couldn’t even afford bus fare to his house; I had to borrow it off him. But Jim’s instincts were right because the first day we got together to write songs, we wrote songs.”

He then told a true story about Vallance’s roommate’s cat marking its territory at the rented house by pissing on their instruments in the basement studio. “The cat was either very territorial or he just hated music because he only pissed where we worked. Each day would start with us searching out what instrument had [been] pissed on, followed by writing songs,” he said with a laugh, making wiping gestures with his hand, then putting it up to his nose to smell — by far the best story of the night.

Adams got a record deal some years later. “The rest of the story is kind of a big catalogue of songs, which some of you may have heard,” he says. “And as my late father would say to me, when something went right, ‘Hats off.’ So in this case, hats off, Jim — and thanks for the bus fare.” He then invited Vallance to join him onstage and finished his speech by thanking his mom (she in the video for the title track to his new album) and longtime manager Bruce Allen.

The evening ended with a special surprise performance of “Tears Are Not Enough,” the 1985 charity single for famine relief, co-written by Vallance, Adams, Foster (and Rachel Paiement). Almost all of the performers from throughout the evening — plus another 2022 inductee, Murray McLauchlan (inducted at Mariposa Folk Festival) — joined some of the performers from the original recording, including Dan Hill, Jane Siberry, and Andy Kim. Foster played piano, and Adams stayed in his seat to take it all in.

Wynonna Judd is sharing her emotional journey following the passing of her late mother, Naomi Judd, the other half of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds.

In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, the country singer opened up about her relationship with her mother before her death in April, her experience of saying goodbye to Naomi and the various emotions she’s grappled with since.

“I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it because she had had episodes before and she got better,” the singer recalled. “And that’s what I live in is like, was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?”

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Naomi died by suicide on April 30 at the age of 76, a day before The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was an event Wynonna ultimately attended with her sister, Ashley, by her side. The singer says that since her mother’s passing she’s leaned on her husband but also that the half-sisters have become closer, even as the family — which Wynonna says are “all very different” — grieves in their own ways.

“We both kind of look at each other, like, ‘I’ve got you,’ right? And we look at each other and we say, ‘Yeah,’” Wynonna explained. “We’re so united right now, I think more so than we have been in a long time.”

Throughout the interview, the singer discussed the fluctuating nature of her relationship with her mother and noted that in her grieving she has at times felt anger. But ultimately, it’s the love between them that has come through stronger.

“Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I say, ‘I really miss you. Why aren’t you here so we can argue?’” the singer shared. “She told me one time, she took my hand and she said, ‘My life is better because of you.’ Those are the memories that are starting to come through more and more.”

“I think when you lose your mother, a lot of that crap goes away because it doesn’t matter anymore,” she added.

Wynonna, who continues making music and touring, said she “has no idea” if it’s “therapy” in a way to perform, but that it’s in tune with her mother’s spirit of forging on and helps her handle her grief.

“I think it’s important to do it, if that makes sense. I feel like I have my marching orders,” she explained. “I want to come out on stage and sing from my toenails a song that helps someone out in that audience. It’s about me singing to help someone feel better. That’s always in my spirit.”

Actress Ashley Judd has also spoken publicly about her mother’s passing and in a Sept. 1 essay for the New York Times described how her and the family’s grieving process has been affected by privacy laws around police reports and the initial procedures authorities followed while responding to Naomi’s passing.

The Double Jeopardy actress said that after being the one to discover her mother, she was interrogated and at one point considered a possible suspect in her death. It was a “traumatizing” experience for the Judd sibling, who along with fellow family members had to share elements of Naomi’s “mental illness and its agonizing history” through “terrible, outdated interview procedures and methods of interacting with family members who are in shock or trauma.”

Ashley added that now the family faces a potential new media cycle with the release of certain police reports. The actress noted that currently undisclosed details around her mother’s death — found in toxicology reports and autopsies — are allowed to be made public in states after they are closed. That includes Tennessee, where her mother passed.

In her essay, she advocated for changes to these laws on the state and federal levels that would stop this information from becoming public. She said, “The raw details are used only to feed a craven gossip economy, and as we cannot count on basic human decency, we need laws that will compel that restraint.”

“We have asked the court to not release these documents not because we have secrets,” Ashley said. “We ask because privacy in death is a death with more dignity. And for those left behind, privacy avoids heaping further harm upon a family that is already permanently and painfully altered.”

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

Rihanna is heading to the Super Bowl!

After rumors swirled on Sunday morning (Sept. 25) that she was in discussions to headline the 2023 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, the 34-year-old superstar further stoked the chatter by sharing a photo of herself holding an NFL-branded football on Instagram.

Shortly after her post, the NFL confirmed the news by retweeting a post by Roc Nation, which featured the same image RiRi had shared. “Let’s GO,” the label and management company captioned its tweet. The NFL also posted Rihanna’s football teaser pic on its official Twitter account.

Super Bowl LVII will take place on Feb. 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show telecast will be produced by DPS, with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as executive producers, and Hamish Hamilton serving as director. Roc Nation will also serve as the strategic entertainment advisors for the live performance.

“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” Jay-Z, founder of Roc Nation, said in a statement. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage,” Seth Dudowsky, NFL head of music, added in his own statement. “Rihanna is a once in a generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career. We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic Halftime Show performance.”

Apple Music, which was recently named the official sponsor of the annual music and pop culture event, succeeding Pepsi, noted that fans will see more details and sneak peeks about the upcoming Super Bowl performance in the coming months through Apple Music’s various social media platforms.

“Rihanna is an incredible recording artist who is a favorite for many millions of Apple Music customers around the world,” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s VP of Apple Music and Beats, said. “We’re excited to partner with Rihanna, Roc Nation and the NFL to bring music and sports fans a momentous show — what an incredible artist for the inaugural Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.”

The 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show was lesson in hip-hop mastery, as a star-packed concert led by Dr. Dre and joined by EminemSnoop DoggMary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar took the stage at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Other past performers in recent years have included The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce.

See Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show teaser on Instagram below.

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