Billboard flew out to Wireless Festival in London, and we asked fans to stand on business with their ranking of Drake’s 14 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. With Take Care, Scorpion, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, Nothing Was the Same and loads more hitting No. 1, keep watching to see where each of his albums land with the public!
Which is your favorite Drake album? Let us know in the comments!
Fan 1: Woof woof. That’s 10 in dog.
Carl Lamarre: We’re gonna put a N/A. With three nights of Drake performances in honor of 20 years of Wireless, we’re ready for our U.K. Drizzy fans to stand on business and rate their favorite Drake albums. Drake has 14 albums that have hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the most out of any artist so far. We ask fans at the festival to personally rate these albums one through 10. We’re giving you the average score for each one and letting you know who’s topping the leaderboard.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 20:05:332025-07-17 20:05:33Fans Rank Drake’s Billboard 200 No. 1 Albums | Standing on Business
Adam Sandler will always be a devoted Swiftie. While speaking to Entertainment Tonight about new movie Happy Gilmore 2, in which Travis Kelce makes a cameo, the actor-comedian only had kind things to say about the tight end and his superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
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The topic of Swift first came up when Sandler was asked whether his daughters –19-year-old Sadie and 16-year-old Sunny, whom he shares with wife Jackie — got the chance to meet the pop star while Kelce was on set of the Happy Gilmore sequel. “They have met, and Taylor’s incredible,” the Sand Man replied.
“Taylor’s so damn nice to my family and has always been,” he continued. “She’s ridiculously nice to them and warm, and Travis is such a gentle, nice guy. Funny as hell. He’s like the guys I grew up with.”
Sandler has long been open about his family’s love for Swift. In February 2024, he confessed to Conan O’Brien that the 14-time Grammy winner is a rare celebrity around whom he still gets “jumpy,” purely because of how much she means to his girls.
Later that year — shortly after Sandler announced that Travis would appear in Happy Gilmore 2 — the Grown Ups actor echoed those thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs star’s New Heights podcast with Jason Kelce. “I love what she had to say … what she meant to young girls, what she means to women, what she means to guys doing the right thing in life,” Sandler said at the time. “I do get nervous around Taylor Swift, because I don’t want to f–king blow it for my kids and say something stupid.”
And in an interview with Billboardlast August, Sandler revealed his favorite song of Swift’s. “Everything [my two daughters] throw on I love, but one of the first ones they threw on when they were young was ‘The Best Day,’” he said. “We connected with that when the kids were young. Every album, we listen the first day it comes out. There’s not a song they don’t know every word to.”
Featuring Travis Kelce and also starring Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Ben Stiller, Happy Gilmore 2 will premiere July 25 on Netflix.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 19:49:172025-07-17 19:49:17Adam Sandler Raves About ‘Incredible’ Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce: ‘She’s Ridiculously Nice’
Eduardo Méndezrecalls the day his mother took him for the first time to a small El Sistema center in Mérida, his hometown in the Andean region of Venezuela. He was only 5 and his mom wanted him to do something better than watching TV all afternoon.
“I remember that the process of joining the orchestra was very easy,” the violinist and lawyer, who has been the executive director of the institution since 2008, tells Billboard Español. “They called it La Juvenil there, and I really liked how warmly they welcomed me. Nobody tested me to see if I had an ear for music or not. In fact, they told my mom, ‘If you want, leave him here right away.’” He started the next day.
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The National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela — home to the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and commonly known as El Sistema — celebrates this year its 50th anniversary transforming lives through free music education with that same sense of inclusivity.
Mentored by maestro José Antonio Abreu from an early age, Méndez, along with his peer Gustavo Dudamel, were chosen as the future of El Sistema, with Dudamel bringing its spirit to the world, and Méndez remaining in Venezuela to strengthen its foundation, expanding its presence to 72 countries and increasing enrollment from 60,000 to 1.2 million children locally.
“Since 2008, Eduardo has led El Sistema with tireless dedication alongside our great Maestro Abreu for many of those years inspire millions around the world,” Dudamel tells Billboard Español. “Under his leadership, the mission of El Sistema has reached farther than ever before, reminding us that we are not just creating musicians, but citizens of the world — young people who carry pride, purpose, and a sense of belonging into everything they do.”
The 50th-anniversary celebrations include various activities and concerts throughout 2025, including a performance by the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dudamel on August 28 at the Southbank Centre in London, announced Wednesday (July 16). Just days earlier, on August 22, the orchestra will perform an opening set and accompany Coldplay during the band’s 10 sold-out concerts at Wembley Stadium.
“The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, as the premier ensemble representing all the children and youth musicians of El Sistema, embodies our shared vision of celebrating music and its ability to inspire, which is why it is a profound honor for our young musicians to share the stage with such a globally renowned band as Coldplay,” Méndez said in a statement. “This collaboration has emerged organically as we build on the momentum and enthusiasm surrounding the 50th anniversary of El Sistema.”
In an interview with Billboard Español from Caracas, Méndez — who was also honored in March at the Wayuu Taya Foundation’s Spring Gala in New York City — discusses his career in El Sistema, the challenges the institution has faced in recent years, and its greatest achievements.
Eduardo Méndez, Gustavo Dudamel and Sting alongside NY Philharmonics at The Wayuu Taya Foundation’s Spring Gala 2025 at Chelsea Industrial on March 11, 2025 in New York City.
Peter Ou
How did you go from being a violinist to being the executive director of El Sistema?
Well, in addition to being a musician, I’m also a lawyer. I graduated from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and played in the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. I pursued both careers simultaneously; I graduated from the conservatory at 20 and as a lawyer at 21. One day, I was talking to maestro [Abreu] in his office, and I said, “Maestro, I have an issue with my work schedule. The hours are conflicting. What do you recommend?” And he said, “You need to come work with me. You can combine the knowledge you’ve gained in college with your knowledge as a musician.” I replied, “But I don’t know anything about management. I’ve never worked in that.” And he said, “Don’t worry. Neither did I.”
Then he told me something that really intrigued me: “We have so many musicians here at El Sistema, but very few musicians who also understand other areas and are willing to support from that perspective.” I think that’s what convinced me. The challenge seemed interesting. I started working with him, beginning with the most basic tasks. I went through all the administrative and managerial positions in the institution. I moved from academic direction to national leadership of the centers, to general management, human resources, and management of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra, among others. There were people who supported me a lot, and perhaps others who didn’t like the idea of a young guy giving them instructions. But those situations helped me grow and learn. I studied public management at IESA (Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration in Caracas), and two years after finishing my specialization, the Maestro named me executive director. It was a complete surprise to everyone, including me — I found out through a memo.
How do you remember maestro Abreu (1939–2018)?
As a great mentor, a great teacher, and an exceptional human being. His humanity was as extraordinary as his genius. He was a visionary who, in 1970s Venezuela, amidst many young musicians without opportunities, decided to convene a rehearsal to form an orchestra. At that first rehearsal, 13 young people showed up, and he announced, with his characteristic vision: “This is going to be a gigantic project. This will be a project that goes around the world, is recognized, records albums with the best ensembles, and plays in the best concert halls.” And it ended up happening, but not by osmosis. It took a lot of dedicated work.
At El Sistema’s 30th anniversary concert, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela conducted by Maestro José Antonio Abreu, featured Eduardo Méndez and Gustavo Dudamel playing violin.
Courtesy of El Sistema
With me particularly, as with Gustavo [Dudamel], he was very eager to teach. I worked for 17 years alongside him from the beginning, and he taught in a very particular way, because he was very strict, very demanding. But on the other hand, he was an extraordinary human being, a person who cared about all the smallest details of sensitivity, of always conveying that message of help, of support. He said that the essence of this wasn’t to develop extraordinary orchestras and extraordinary musicians. Yes, that was going to happen; in such large groups of people geniuses would emerge. But the most important thing was to develop citizens.
One thing that’s fascinating is how El Sistema has thrived regardless of who’s in power. What have been the biggest challenges for you in that regard, and why do you think the institution has managed to sustain and grow in a socioeconomic and political situation like Venezuela’s?
Adhering to institutional frameworks has been key, and that institutional framework has always been very difficult. You know what you are, and you know what you’re doing, and you know you have to work for and on behalf of the children, the youth, and the project. But sometimes not everyone understands that. Even from the very beginning of El Sistema, there were many challenges that maestro [Abreu] had to overcome to achieve the state’s recognition of the project. At that time, it was known that a project of this magnitude could not, under any circumstances, be managed solely privately, because the concept of free funding would already be practically impossible, and that was the essence of the program.
I had to go through to that too. I faced many institutional challenges during difficult times, especially when my time as executive director combined with the illness of maestro Abreu, who was ill for almost four years. Although he was there, he wasn’t there every day, so that created an obligation for me to take the reins of the project more decisively at a time when the organization was absolutely personal, dependent on maestro Abreu — whatever the maestro said, was done. One of the fundamental challenges I faced there, to maintain institutionality, was the depersonalization of that project: Horizontalizing the institution, giving everyone responsibilities, training new generations of managers. My challenges were modernizing the institution, adapting the structures for growth. The maestro’s figure obviously remains and always will be present, but it’s now more like philosophy.
Today there’s a board of directors. In addition, I have four sector directors for each area, and the directors have clearly defined responsibilities. In other words, whether I’m there or not, this functions precisely. They know what to do, how to do it. Of course, there are macro plans that I launch from the beginning of the year — what’s going to happen, how we’re going to do it. We have two- and three-year plans, which we didn’t have before. But if we wanted to earn respect in the world of international classical music, we had to plan ahead.
Millions of people have emigrated from Venezuela in the last decade, including many musicians from El Sistema. How did you handle this situation?
These challenges led me to make many decisions that, I would say, were revolutionary for the organization itself and for the country as well, because this organization began to move in a completely different way than the rest of the country. One of the things that was happening in Venezuela, as you said, was this situation of polarization, of complex political situations, where there were even musicians who left — look, for us to turn all these complex situations into strength […] The Simón Bolívar Orchestra was practically dismantled at the time of the crisis, and with the pandemic, it got worse. We had to create a new orchestra that just went on a successful tour in Europe, through the most important cities, where there were standing ovations everywhere, and it’s a completely new orchestra.
The question my colleagues in the other orchestras and the venues who kindly welcomed us were asking: “But how can the same institution rebuild an orchestra with its own students, trained by itself, and come here and sell the tickets I don’t sell?” It’s diametrically opposed to what happens in the rest of the country, and that has a lot to do with the way El Sistema is managed, and with how we learn music. Because music within El Sistema has always moved very quickly, it’s been cutting edge. A child who enters a center today isn’t Eduardo Méndez when he entered at age 5. Now, a 5-year-old is hyperstimulated. In other words, the methodology has been incredibly refined over the years. And now, there are thousands of orchestras to look after, thousands of groups to look after.
How many people make up the management team?
There are 89, including directors and inspection chiefs, who are like the bosses who manage the entire organization. And I work directly with four directors in charge of different sectors. An organization like this, which receives both public and private funding, which receives donations, which receives a range of resources for this purpose, also requires absolutely impeccable management. I’ve built very intense teams in that regard to keep things flowing.
Do you think Dudamel’s international success helped spread El Sistema’s name abroad?
Evidently, yes. He was part of the success that El Sistema was already building, because when El Sistema began creating its children’s orchestras, that’s when the National Children’s Orchestra in which Gustavo played was created. So, of course, the Children’s Orchestra began as an experimental orchestra of little children playing adult repertoire, repertoire that was somehow manageable, but under a strict teaching method. And that’s what that orchestra did. It began touring, supported by the state, supported by various sectors, and it traveled through Italy, eventually reaching Germany. That was the first step toward internationalization of the European side; the South American side was already quite advanced.
Then maestro [Abreu] put him in charge of conducting the orchestra, which was formally the National Children’s Orchestra, and at that moment Gustavo gained very important experience, a wealth of experience that allows a 13- or 14-year-old boy to gain ground and to make contacts. Because normally, when a conductor in Europe or the U.S. wants to conduct an orchestra, he has to graduate and spend years before being given an orchestra. Here, Gustavo already had tons of practice, and the maestro was right there teaching him. That led Gustavo to ultimately win [the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition] in Bamberg, [Germany], which was what really launched him and made people ask, “Where does this kid come from?”
Eduardo Méndez, Joshua Bell, and Cuarteto Armacuaco in rehearsal at PowerStation Studio on March 10thahead of The Wayuu Taya Foundation’s Spring Gala 2025.
Devin Kasparian
What would you say has been El Sistema’s greatest achievement in these 50 years?
Remaining stable despite everything and growing, because it’s not just about maintaining yourself, it’s about growing and setting an example for other countries. I believe that from all the things surrounding El Sistema — which can be described as beautiful, pleasant, and enjoyable — it’s not just that. This is something much deeper. It has transformed the lives of millions of Venezuelans. We estimate that more than 3 million Venezuelan children and young people have passed through El Sistema’s classrooms in 50 years, including those currently in attendance.
And to grow and develop not only as an inclusive project that has added value, but one that has done so with quality, one that has done so with excellence, where the Venezuelan identity has also been elevated in the world of music, to the point that we are now considered a powerhouse of classical music, and I would dare to go a little further — not just in classical music, because even in popular music, many of those Latin musicians who are winning Grammys came from here and are absolutely proud to have passed through our classrooms. Something that 50 years ago seemed utopian has become a very important reality for Venezuela. It has transformed people’s lives, generated jobs, been a forward-thinking, innovative and unifying organization. To speak of El Sistema in Venezuela today is to speak of unity. There is no one from anywhere who can say anything negative about El Sistema.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 19:42:032025-07-17 19:42:03El Sistema Turns 50: How a ‘Utopian’ Idea Became a ‘Very Important Reality’ for the Venezuelan Musical Institution
Don’t expect to see Jennifer Lopez walking down any more wedding aisles — she’s had enough of that.
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In a hilarious moment captured on video at her Tuesday (July 15) concert in Barcelona, the singer-actress had the best response for a person in the crowd who proposed to her. “J. Lo, marry me?” Lopez began, seemingly reading aloud a fan’s sign.
Shaking her head and making a throat-slash gesture with her hand, the musician replied, “I think I’m done with that.”
“I’ve tried that a few times,” she added, laughing.
The moment from the show comes about six months after Lopez settled her divorce with Ben Affleck after about two years of marriage. The couple had previously been engaged about two decades prior before calling off their wedding in 2004, later sending the internet into a tailspin when they rekindled their romance in 2021.
Before that, the Marry Me star was wed to Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998 and Cris Judd from 2001 to 2003. After her first split from Affleck in 2004, Lopez started dating and quickly married Marc Anthony, with whom she shares twins Emme and Max.
The New York native has previously said that she plans on staying single following her second breakup from Affleck, telling Interview in October, “Now I’m excited, when you say you’re just going to be on your own.”
“Yes, I’m not looking for anybody, because everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f–king do when it’s just me flying on my own?” she added at the time. “What if I’m just free?”
The Gone Girl actor has also spoken out in the aftermath of his split from Lopez. “This is somebody I have a lot of respect for,” Affleck told GQ in March. “I really hope that whatever you use doesn’t suggest that I have any negativity or judgment or anything regarding that.”
Lopez will continue touring through mid-March, with stops on her Up All Night trek planned for cities in Italy, Poland, Turkey and more countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. Her latest album, This Is Me… Now, peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard 200 in 2024.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 19:03:202025-07-17 19:03:20Jennifer Lopez Says She’s ‘Done’ With Marriage After Ben Affleck Split: ‘I’ve Tried That a Few Times’
Kendrick Lamar and SZA have been sharing the spotlight with each other on their current Grand National Tour, and the “All the Stars” collaborators are bringing their A-list friends into the fold during select shows.
Playboi Carti was the first guest performer, popping out for “Good Credit” at the Atlanta show in April after Dot had been performing the MUSIC track solo since the tour’s opening night in Minneapolis on April 19. Both Baby Keem and Kaytranada came out as surprise guests, performing “Family Ties” and Teedra Moses’ “Be Your Girl,” respectively, during the concert at the “Kill Bill” singer’s home state of New Jersey earlier in May. While SZA performed her “Consideration” collaboration with Rihanna from the latter’s iconic 2016 album Anti at the Jersey stop, fans could only hope and dream that RiRi would one day join her on stage.
The stars have also been spotted on the sidelines, as videos of Pusha T attending their Foxborough show went viral.
After AzChike performed during the DJ Hed & Friends portion of The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert on Juneteenth last year, he became the first featured rapper on GNX to pop out as a guest during the trio of shows in Lamar’s hometown of Los Angeles in May, when they performed “Peekaboo” together. Meanwhile, SZA brought out Lizzo (twice!) and Justin Bieber during the other two L.A. nights to perform the remixes of “Special” and “Snooze,” respectively.
Billboard rounded up all the guest stars who’ve popped up at the Grand National Tour, in order of oldest to most recent appearance.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 18:36:282025-07-17 18:36:28All the Guest Stars on Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s Grand National Tour So Far
SZA brought out Lizzo to perform “IRL” IRL during the second Paris stop of the former’s Grand National Tour with Kendrick Lamar Wednesday night (July 16).
“BAD B—H… in REAL LIFEEEE @sza !!!!! Thanks for letting me throw it byke on ur stage #stadiumstatus,” Lizzo captioned an Instagram clip of their performance.
It’s not the first time SZA surprised stadium audiences with a Lizzo appearance during this tour. On the first of three L.A. stops, she brought out her “best friend” “for energy and positivity” as the two performed their remix of Lizzo’s “Special” from her 2022 Grammy-nominated album of the same name.
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“IRL” was featured on Lizzo’s recent rap mixtape MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING, which she dropped on June 27 via Nice Life and Atlantic Records.
During Lizzo’s interview with Billboardabout her latest project, she gushed about how the “Nobody Gets Me” singer doesget her. “She’s one of the only people that I can text at 3 in the morning when I’m crashing out. She’ll just get this one dark-ass text and she’s like, ‘Oh my gosh. Are you OK?’” said Lizzo. “But I really appreciate her, because she understands — and I think it’s really hard for you to have someone in your life who actually f–ks with you and who’s known you for a long time who also understand the world that you’re in. I think that’s what I cherish the most about her. She gets me.”
Watch a clip of Lizzo and SZA’s first live performance of “IRL” below.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 18:34:022025-07-17 18:34:02Lizzo Performs Live Debut of ‘IRL’ With SZA in Paris: ‘Thanks for Letting Me Throw It Byke on Ur Stage’
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BTS is one of the biggest groups in music, so it’s not hard to find tons of available merchandise dedicated to the Bangtan Boys. Rare collectibles – like vinyl box sets and other exclusive and officially licensed limited-edition items from BTS Official Merch, Weverse and fan sites like BT21 Merch or special collaborations like the Casetify anniversary collection — tend to fly off the shelves.
You can always check out sites like eBay and Mercari to get your hands on limited-edition or sold-out BTS merch, but for BTS fans who might not have tons of money to spend on resale items, we put together a list of some of the best (and more affordable) unofficial BTS merch that you can buy from Amazon and Walmart right now.
Whether you’re an ARMY, or shopping for one, this roundup features pieces of BTS-inspired merch including apparel, photocards, calendars, jewelry, electronics, collectible figurines and other cool gift ideas for die-hard K-pop lovers — and almost everything on the list is under $50
If you’re a hardcore BTS stan you’ll know all about BT21 Line Friends. The cute little mascots were created through a collaboration between the South Korean boy band BTS and LINE FRIENDS, a global character brand. Whether you stan Suga or Jimin, you can show your loyalty by snagging yourself a sweet little headband affixed with each member’s BT21 character. The characters attached to the headband are 3D and plush.
Mshion Charm Bracelet Women’s Stainless Steel Bracelets Pendant Link Jewelry Holiday Gifts
Like the entry before this, you’ve got more BT21-inspired merch, this time in the form of a bracelet. The characters are clearly beloved, given they appear in a slew of the boy band’s merch. This stainless steel chain bracelet features every member’s assigned LINE FRIENDS characters so you can rep the whole band in style. This item of merch is very subtle, perfect for BTS fans who want to rock the band’s merch without looking too cheesy or loud.
BTS has an array of Funko Pop figures already available; however, if you’re a Suga solo stan, this one is for you. This Agust D figurine is inspired by the rapper’s 2023 hit “Haegeum” and depicts Suga in his music video look down to his accessories. The vinyl figure stands at 3.75 inches (9.5 cm) tall, the perfect size to display on a shelf.
An official recipe book 16 Beginner-Friendly Korean Food Recipes Inspired by BTS
Want to cook like BTS? With this BTS RECIPE BOOK 2, you can. The official merch contains 16 beginner-friendly South Korean recipes all inspired by BTS. These recipes are based on ones the boy band has actually used and include alternatives to some South Korean ingredients. You’ve also got vegan and gluten-free options. For our allergy-prone readers, every dish is also nut-free. Beyond the recipes, there’s a Korean language section in the book that breaks down 16 useful Korean expressions all related to food.
A magnet with a portrait of individual BTS member.
You know what your fridge is likely lacking? BTS merch. Not to worry, though. You can now buy mini acrylic magnets depicting portraits of each member at Walmart. These magnets include all seven members of BTS, all suited up in their 2021 “Permission to Dance” live stage outfits. The magnets are currently on sale for $5.97, so you can buy all seven magnets without breaking the bank. Or you could be a proud solo stan and just grab one.
A tumbler with all the BTS member’s signatures on it.
There’s nothing better than useful merch. This BTS branded tumbler is both useful and cute. The product is made of stainless steel both inside and out. Whether you’re drinking coffee or wine, the tumbler can hold 12oz of whatever you choose. Plus, the insulated interior keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cool. Additionally, the coffee tumbler’s tapered design allows it to fit seamlessly in most standard cup holders. The design centers around BTS’ logo along with the members’ signatures. If you’ve got an ARMY in your life that’s always on the go, this would make a unique and helpful gift.
A black tee with Jungkook’s name on it ans BTS’ logo.
Nothing beats a standard t-shirt. This one from Walmart is dedicated to those solo stans that want to rep their bias Jungook in a subtle but cute way. These tees are made of cotton and feature your standard BTS branded details, including the band’s logo, along with Jungkook’s respective BT21 character, a whimsical rabbit. You can shop this t-shirt in seven different colorways; however, the black is our favorite. The pink graphics set against the black background really make the merch pop.
Another day, another solo stan tee. If you’re a fan of Jin, you can snag yourself an oversized tee with his face on it in a butter yellow hue, very fitting. Other options available on Walmart include a black tee and a white tee in similarly baggy styles fixed with the graphic ‘RUNSEOKJIN Tour’ on the back and ‘worldwide handsome’ on the front. No matter which design you choose, the t-shirts are unisex and made of 100% cotton for a breathable finish.
These six-inch BTS figures are a K-Pop collector’s dream. Retailing for $11.99, each figure depicts one of the members in a colorful anime-esque style attached to a base so the figure can stand up. If you want to buy all seven members’ figures, the whole lot will run you $49.99.
A figure of each individual member holding a Tamagotchi Nano.
Similar to the figure above, this figure depicts each member of BTS in a sweet little chibi style, but with a twist. These collectables were made in collaboration with Tamagotchi Nano, a miniature, portable version of the popular Tamagotchi virtual pet. Nestled in the lap of each figure, you’ll find a functioning Tamagotchi Nano loaded up with two mini games and little playable characters depicting the BTS members. Interactive and fun, we can envision this piece making a great gift for the gamer ARMY in your life.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 18:20:352025-07-17 18:20:35From Keychains to Hoodies — BTS Merch Under $50 that ARMY Won’t Be Able to Pass Up
The Last Dinner Party’s next era is underway. On Thursday (July 17), the five-piece announced its second studio album, From the Pyre, and shared its jaunty, country-tinged lead single, “This Is the Killer Speaking.” The new LP will arrive on Oct. 17 via Island Records.
The band debuted “This Is the Killer Speaking” in June 2024 at Prague’s Metronome Festival, before playing it at Glastonbury later that month. The song has since appeared sporadically in The Last Dinner Party’s setlists over the past 12 months, before the group confirmed its title during a performance at Pinkpop Festival, Netherlands, on June 21.
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Per a press release, the baroque-pop band headed into the studio at the start of the year with producer Markus Dravs (Wolf Alice, Florence & The Machine) to start work on From the Pyre. The record will follow 2024’s Prelude to Ecstasy, which topped the Official U.K. Albums Chart upon release and gained the biggest opening week for a debut album by a British band since 2015, according to data from Official Charts Company.
“This record is a collection of stories, and the concept of album-as-mythos binds them. ‘The Pyre’ itself is an allegorical place in which these tales originate, a place of violence and destruction but also regeneration, passion and light,” the band said in a statement.
“The songs are character driven but still deeply personal, a commonplace life event pushed to pathological extreme. Being ghosted becomes a Western dance with a killer, and heartbreak laughs into the face of the apocalypse. Lyrics invoke rifles, scythes, sailors, saints, cowboys, floods, Mother Earth, Joan of Arc and blazing infernos. We found this kind of evocative imagery to be the most honest and truthful way to discuss the way our experiences felt, giving each the emotional weight it deserves.”
They added: “This record feels a little darker, more raw and more earthy; it takes place looking out at a sublime landscape rather than seated at an opulent table. It also feels meta-textual and cheeky in places, like a knowing look reflected back at ourselves.”
In March, the band scooped the best new artist accolade at the BRIT Awards. In September, they are set to appear at All Things Go festival in New York City alongside the likes of Doechii, Lola Young and Noah Kahan.
Check out the tracklist to The Last Dinner Party’s’ upcoming album From the Pyre and stream the first single below:
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 18:12:002025-07-17 18:12:00The Last Dinner Party Announces New Album ‘From The Pyre’: ‘This Record Feels a Little Darker’
On Dec. 31, 2017, local funk outfit Galactic played their annual sold-out New Year’s Eve bash at New Orleans’ famed Tipitina’s. The event was a long-standing tradition, but this time the beloved venue failed to pay the band. As one of the stage’s most frequent acts, the band and their management knew something wasn’t quite right.
According to Galactic bassist Robert Mercurio, the band was informed by Tipitina’s owner Roland Von Kurnatowski that he was sorry, but there was no money. The band started hearing that other acts who played the then 40-year-old venue weren’t getting paid either. Von Kurnatowski, who reportedly purchased the venue without having stepped foot in it in 1996, “was mismanaging the money,” Mercurio explains.
The venue’s financial struggles led to conversations between Von Kurnatowski and Galactic’s manager Alex Brahl of 7S Management, who threw out the crazy idea that the band should purchase Tipitina’s. The band members assumed Von Kurnatowski wasn’t interested in selling, but after a few months of conversations with their manager circumstances changed.
Von Kurnatowski “thought it was a good idea,” Mercurio says. “Truthfully, he had been approached by the Live Nations and the AEGs over the years and one of the coolest things he did was that he didn’t go to the highest bidder. He really wanted it to land in what he thought were proper hands, to keep it local and keep it focused on what it was intended to be.”
Tipitina’s in New Orleans, LA.
Joshua “Spidey” McGowan
The Tipitina’s building was first constructed in 1912 and over the past 100 plus years, it was utilized as a gambling house, gymnasium and brothel before becoming a music venue in 1977. A group of 14 local music enthusiasts, who wanted a fair club where musicians wouldn’t be taken advantage of, each put $1,000 in and opened The 501 Club on Jan. 14, 1977, but eventually renamed it Tipitina’s after the song “Tipitina” by New Orleans legend Professor Longhair. Professor Longhair (real name Henry Roeland Byrd) created a unique style by fusing rhumba rhythms with boogie-woogie, blues and southern R&B and was a frequent performer at the club before his passing in 1980.
For years the venue housed a restaurant, bar and a juice bar (allegedly the origin of the banana in the Tipitina’s logo). A two-story building at the time, there were also apartments above the club where Cyril Neville of the Neville Brothers once lived, as well as countless other musicians, and, in the 1980s, one of the apartments housed the studios of radio station WWOZ. The radio station would occasionally broadcast a live Tipitina’s show by dropping a microphone through a hole in the floor.
The venue was remodeled in the 1980s to become the venue it is today – getting rid of the apartments above and creating a venue with high ceilings and a balcony, creating backstage areas and enhancing sightlines. The juice bar is gone, but a mural of Professor Longhair hangs above the stage of the 800-capacity venue audiences see today.
Despite its deep local history and legendary status among independent spaces, owning and running a single small club is a difficult feat for anyone, let alone a touring band like Galactic. On top of the typical complications of running a club – increasingly thin margins, constantly looming recession and the attention economy – Tipitina’s was also saddled with a bad reputation in years prior to the band’s interest in purchasing it.
Galactic playing at Tipitina’s in New Orleans, LA.
James Bricker
According to Mercurio, once the band was able to convince the local Small Business Association that they were qualified to purchase the venue, they soon found out Tiptina’s had been blacklisted by pretty much every booking agent due to lack of payment from the previous owner.
“It was a shock and sad to hear that,” Mercurio says. “It made sense. We were like, ‘God, why don’t any of these national acts play here anymore? What happened?’ So, we have been digging ourselves out of that.”
Their efforts have paid off with acts like The Killers playing a warmup show at the venue prior to their appearance at Jazz Fest two years ago. Additional national acts like Lyle Lovett, David Cross, Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine have also recently played the venue.
In addition to not paying acts that performed at the venue, the previous owner Von Kurnatowski was reportedly under investigation by the FBI for an alleged Ponzi scheme. Von Kurnatowski died in 2019 after he shot himself during a hunting trip on his farm in Mississippi.
To sweeten the deal for national touring acts – who could have their choice of endless venues in New Orleans, including the Live Nation-owned House of Blues – upon purchasing the venue in 2018, Galactic immediately got to sprucing up the backstage.
Tipitina’s in New Orleans, LA.
Joshua “Spidey” McGowan
“If you make the musicians feel honored or at least give them a decent place to sit, it’s gonna make the show better and the experience for the audience is going to be happier,” Mercurio says. “So, one of the first things we did was upgrade the backstage with not a lot of money, but gave it a fresh coat of paint and bought some better used furniture.”
Tipitina’s has since upgraded the backstage more significantly. “We’re not going to beat Live Nation and AEG on money. They’re always going to have deeper pockets, but we can beat them at being the cool place to play in town,” Mercurio adds.
Less than two years after getting the keys to the building, Galactic faced another unforeseen hurdle – a worldwide pandemic that shut down live music.
“We’re not only a band who’s out of work, but now we own this club and it was super stressful,” says Mercurio, who adds that they got creative and held high-end streaming events. They brought in multi-cameras and cranes and began selling a series of shows that would stream every Friday night to give friends and families some quality entertainment when they could not leave the house. The series went on for two seasons, while they and other venues affiliated with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) fought for and eventually received funds from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant in 2021.
The band also started the vinyl subscription, the Tipitina’s Record Club. Started in December of 2020, the club’s selection is curated by Mercurio and Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman and delivered to members every other month. The monthly selections range from reissues that can’t be found elsewhere, exclusive recordings of live Tipitina’s performances or newly produced New Orleans records. Everything is pressed at a local plant in New Orleans and shipped to people across the globe for 3,000 members.
The vinyl club “was something we wanted to do just to make ends meet during the pandemic, but we’re on our 28th release, which is kind of crazy,” says Mercurio. “I mean, 28 times 3,000 – it’s really amazing how many records we put out there.”
Seven years later and several hurdles overcome, Mercurio says Galactic has no regrets about buying the building and the business.
“When I moved here as a 17-year-old, I was [at Tipitina’s] within the first couple of weeks and had some of the best nights of my life seeing music,” says Mercurio. “It sounds great. The staff’s really chill. The outside area around the club is bustling. On the sidewalk, you can hang out and have a smoke and still hear the band. It checks a lot of the boxes of what I think a live music experience should be.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 18:06:362025-07-17 18:06:36Tipitina’s Revival: How Galactic Saved the New Orleans Venue From a Financial Funk
Haim are not like us. The sister trio who just dropped their fourth studio album, I Quit, popped in to chat with Jake Shane on his Therapuss podcast this week, where Alana, Danielle and Este shared some of their only-sisters-can-talk-like-this banter and classic stories about their teenage misadventures in Hollywood with Kesha and Prince.
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Sharing some of the inside knowledge they learned from “Joyride” singer Kesha, Alana, 33, revealed that the trio used to sneak into concerts they couldn’t afford as teens thanks to their notorious pass-copying crew. “Well, we copied passes, and we also just snuck in. We would climb over fences, we would climb up trees,” added Este, 39, who noted that when she was in high school they could scramble up into the trees behind the Greek Theatre to watch shows.
Their lookie-loo adventures were aided and abetted by Kesha — who they met in 2004 when she was a 17-year-old Hollywood transplant from Nashville — who Danielle, 36, said, “taught us how to do all that stuff.” They recalled meeting Kesha at the Sunset Junction street festival in Silverlake at a Chaka Khan show, where Este was immediately a fan after a random friend introduced them.
“I saw her and I was like, ‘oh.’ It was love at first sight. Completely,” said Este. “Have you ever had that with someone when you see someone and you’re like ‘I know this is gonna be my best friend?’” In classic old school Kesha fashion, Este said when they first hung out, the singer told her she’d just stolen a bottle of Goldschläger from the liquor store and they proceeded to get drunk outside Kesha’s apartment on Sunset Blvd., with Alana giving the “Raising Hell” vocalist credit for [teaching] us how to be confident.”
The sisters then became part of Kesha’s crew, “running around Echo Park” and sneaking into places when Alana was still a 13-year-old with braces and Danielle was a 17-year-old high schooler, with big sis Este hooking her siblings with hilariously too-old-to-pass fake IDs.
Their shenanigans reached peak ridiculousness in 2009 when they went to see Prince at the Forum in L.A. with their parents, who scored them prime nosebleed seats. Near the end of the show, Alana said Prince summoned “all the hot ladies in the audience” to the stage. Before Alana could realize what was going on, Este and Danielle had taken off in their high heels, sprinting towards the stage while their folks grabbed Alana’s arm and denied her the chance to share a stage with Prince.
Realizing they would have to sneak by security to make it all the way, Este said they swung their way down as on monkey bars onto the floor using some Mission Impossible-level parkour as they approached the purple velvet rope separating the crowd from the more exclusive “P-Hive.”
Long story short, they were psyched to watch the show from the way-better vantage point, except Este was still determined to make it on stage. “He said ‘come onstage.’ He said, ‘hot ladies, come onstage,’” Este reiterated as Danielle described her sister attempting to vault from a production table to the on-stage promised land in six-inch heels.
“If I can get on the production table, I can then hop onstage… I think I’ve done the math correctly, I’m gonna put one foot on this table, one hand on this stage, hoist myself up. Great,” Este said. But, on the cusp of glory, she described feeling a hand, “clock me. Hand in face. I fall backwards into more security. And I fall. I’m like an angel falling from grace.” As her sister was being hauled away, Danielle pretended like she didn’t know who Este was and kept dancing in the circle. “Danielle literally could not have given less of a s–t,” Este said. “I tried to barter my insulin pump. I was like ‘you can have my insulin pump. Just please let me go back out there.’ They kept me back there in quarantine. […] I missed ‘Raspberry Beret,’ which I really wanted to see.”
The hour-long chat featured them recalling the bummer of releasing their 2020 Women in Music Pt. III album just as the COVID-19 pandemic was breaking out and starting the band when Danielle was a senior in high school and decided she wasn’t going away for college; Alana noted that, to be fair, neither she nor Danielle actually got into college. They also hit on writing the I Quit breakup ballad “I Cry” after Este outed an ex for cheating on her to their friend group and their friendship and obsession with creative director/photographer Terrence O’Connor and his creative and romantic partner Overcompensating creator Benito Skinner.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-07-17 18:01:122025-07-17 18:01:12Haim on Kesha Teaching Them How To Sneak Into Shows, Bum-Rushing Prince Stage as Teens: ‘She Taught Us How to Be Confident’
