Move over, Cardi B. Brent Faiyaz announced his upcoming album, Icon, on Thursday (July 3), which is slated to hit streaming services on Sept. 19 — the same day as Cardi’s Am I the Drama?.

Faiyaz sent fans into a frenzy with a post to his Instagram Story featuring the album title and a possible cover art for Icon, alongside the expected release date of Sept. 19.

The R&B singer’s wasting no time kicking off the rollout on Friday (July 4) when a pair of singles, named after famed fictional characters “Tony Soprano” and “Peter Pan,” will arrive.

A snippet finds Faiyaz lending his intoxicating croon to laid-back production: “I wish that I could breathe underwater/ I’ll swim to the deepest ocean to be where you are, babe/ If I could be there, I would love you inside out,” he sings.

Icon serves as Faiyaz’s first studio album since 2022’s Wasteland, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. He also released a mixtape in 2023 with Larger Than Life featuring Missy Elliott, A$AP Rocky, Babyface Ray, Coco Jones and Tommy Richman.

Ahead of the mixtape’s arrival, Billboard reported that Faiyaz inked a lucrative distribution deal with UnitedMasters and launched his ISO Supremacy record label/creative agency.

“My role musically and artistically, that’s not really up for me to interpret,” Faiyaz told Billboard in 2024. “There are still a lot more things I want to learn. But now I’m realizing how important it was to break the mold so that people can see my story, see what we did and say, ‘All right, I can do that. It’s just another way to go about it. It doesn’t really have to be so black and white.’ That has been my role: to usher in this new wave of creative freedom.”

Lizzo is showing off her progress while silencing haters. In a triumphant post on Instagram on Thursday (July 3), the hitmaker shared side-by-side photos from before and after her weight loss, revealing the “truth” behind how she pulled off her transformation.

In both snaps, Lizzo poses in front of a mirror at a lymphatic massage center. Taken months apart, the Grammy winner looks visibly slimmer in the second photo.

“In light of all these magazines and blogs wanting me to be on ozempic soooo bad — here’s the truth!” she wrote in her caption. “I work my a– off, training 3x a week, daily sauna & cardio, adding animal protein back into my diet, hiring a chef who helps me meal prep and keeps track of what I put into my body in a calorie deficit, cutting out sugary Starbucks & full fat sodas & potato chips.”

Lizzo went on to say that she quit drinking for a long time, but is now back to indulging in alcohol because she “earned it.” “I play pickleball and hike and walk on the beach and move my body and dance and drink water,” she added. “I detox! Once a month! I also get holistic body work done, wood therapy, and lymphatic massage.”

The musician concluded, “I’m so happy and proud of what I’ve done, and no one can take that away from me.”

Lizzo has been open in the past few months about her fitness journey. In a recent Women’s Health cover story, she opened up about being inspired to shed some pounds after suffering severe back pain caused by her weight.

The artist — whose new album Love in Real Life drops later this year — also explained why she prefers to view her approach as a “weight-release journey,” rather than weight “loss.” “It’s okay to gain weight after you’ve released weight, because what you’re not going to do is shame me if my body changes again and I get bigger,” she told the publication.

See Lizzo’s post below.

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With all eyes set on Thailand, thanks to the recent success of the hit HBO series White Lotus, W Hotel has created a one-of-a-kind retreat, turning their gorgeous Koh Samui location into a vibrant culture hub for music lovers.

Dubbed W Presents, the innovative live music showcase features an all-inclusive experience that includes exclusive performances from participating DJs and artists from around the globe, local excursions such as elephant sanctuary visits, a Muay Thai boxing session, and even a White Lotus-style island-hopping boat cruise with a sunset party.

The inaugural Koh Samui retreat took place between May 1 to 5 with a jam-packed lineup of live performances from renowned DJ and W Hotels‘ Global Music Director LP Giobbi, plus Bonobo, Sofia Kourtesis, Beatrice, Emjie, JOPLYN, Mascolo, as well as local artists like Kate Sara, Dan Buri, and W Koh Samui Music Curator, Armando Mendes. From poolside DJ sets during the sunset, to intimate villa dinner partiers, to luxe boat cruise dancing, each performance was spread throughout multiple nights and set at different locations to make each set feel unique.

“Music has always been part of W Hotels’ DNA, and W Presents has become a powerful global platform for a culturally relevant sonic expression,” says W Hotels senior VP and global brand leader George Fleck. “With our first-ever W Presents Retreat, we are deepening that connection to be an even more immersive experience in the world’s most exotic destinations, bringing guests closer to the artists they love and the places they love to discover. Launching at our iconic W Koh Samui makes it even more special given the island’s vibrant music scene, natural beauty and stunning local culture.”

“We don’t just see music as background noise, as in many hotels, but rather a part of creating experiences, both for our guests, but also for creating a platform for artists who want to share their art and write their music with guests around the world. And so it was kind of a natural evolution for us as we think about music programming, that we would create a global music tour where we can bring interesting artists to destinations that also really resonate with those travelers.”

What sets W Presents apart from concerts or music festivals is the more intimate setting. At the W Hotel, there aren’t thousands of fans packing into a venue or security separating the artists from fans, but the exact opposite. The retreat encourages attendees and musicians to mix and mingle together in a casual setting to help build connections and a sense of community. With only a few hundred guests on site, the experience felt more like a VIP exclusive getaway for creatives, artists and music lovers alike.

“The privacy of these hotels, in a really cool setting, you have more access to them. You can learn more about how they create music, and you can feel more a richer, more personalized experience that hopefully will live with you for a long time and create those memories that stay with you. That’s really important to us, that we don’t just come across as a hotel that plays music.”

Besides enjoying live music, guests are immersed into local cuisine, art, nature, and hospitality. Many excursions were planned to fully embrace and experience the Koh Samui island with options to explore lively night markets, use arts and craft stations, learn Muay Thai boxing, or slow things down with beach-front yoga and sound baths. What you see in the White Lotus may look luxurious, but actually laying out by the ocean with fresh coconut water and mango sticky rice in hand is the perfect vacation treat.

The W Presents Retreat at W Koh Samui ranges from $3,836 (132,000 Baht) for a one-bedroom villa with a private pool and garden view to $6,746 (232,000 Baht) for an oceanfront villa. Bookings include breakfast, lunch and dinner for two guests daily, a welcome dinner and access to wellness programs (such as sound baths and yoga and mindfulness classes mentioned above).

Can’t make it to Thailand? W Hotel is expanding its W PRESENTS series with a global tour this summer hitting Shanghai, Budapest, Seattle, Prague, and Abu Dhabi. W PRESENTS will also have a stage at other W Hotel properties this year, including W New York (Union Square), W Hoboken, W Hollywood, W Punta Cana, W Bali (Seminyak), W Singapore (Sentosa Cove), W Fort Lauderdale, W Dubai (Mina Seyahi), and W São Paulo, with event dates soon to be announced.

“W Presents is a powerful platform for W Hotels – a brand that’s always been anchored in sound, scene, and self-expression,” shares George Fleck, Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader, W Hotels in a press release. “As music-led travel continues to surge, W Hotels remains a cultural connector, setting the stage for discovery and unforgettable experiences that blur the line between performance and place. Through groundbreaking live sets and immersive experiences, we’re redefining how music and hospitality come together to create those moments that you just had to be there for.

Book your stay at the W Koh Samui hotel here.

Daichi Miura dropped a double A-sided single called “Horizon Dreamer / Polytope” on June 25. Produced by Nao’ymt, who has collaborated with the J-pop singer and dancer on a number of his previous works, both “Horizon Dreamer” and “Polytope” are featured in DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH, the latest video game by world-renowned game creator Hideo Kojima. The 37-year-old pop star spoke to Billboard Japan about the creative process of both tracks and shared his enthusiasm for and longtime love of gaming in this latest interview.

“Horizon Dreamer” and “Polytope” were written for the video game DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH for PlayStation®︎5. The former is a track featuring a very primitive rhythm and melody.

Daichi Miura: The song has a very grounded feel to it, with a sound that evokes a scene of people walking through the wilderness step by step to reach a new land. It has a touch of bluegrass, with banjos and such, and the music has an indigenous, very physical feel to it. “Horizon Dreamer” was written with images of the game in mind, of course, but since I exist as Daichi Miura in the world of DS 2, Kojima-san said to me, “Don’t make it a song that expresses the world of the game too much. I’d like it to be one that stands on its own as a new single by Daichi Miura and also have proper strength as a pop song.” So Nao’ymt (pronounced “Nao why em tee”) wrote it as a new song for me, incorporating the essence and progress of my music up to now.

I see. Nao’ymt wrote and produced both songs. Could you share what you discussed with him in the beginning of the production process?

I’ve always loved playing video games, and had an opportunity to connect with Kojima-san through an interview during the production of (the first) DEATH STRANDING. As a fan of both Kojima-san and Nao-san, I’d been thinking that it was pretty clear the two of them should collaborate to create something together. Things began to take shape in a miraculous way for this project and we agreed to work together as a triangle.

So it was an eagerly anticipated triangle for you.

Right. I knew there were things that would definitely resonate between them, so I thought it’d be great if they’d connect. Oh, and there was this miracle that happened regarding “Horizon Dreamer.”

Tell us about it.

Kojima-san had told me he was working on DS 2, and shared that “this time there will be a ship that didn’t appear last time, and you’ll be traveling on it.” Around the same time, I received a demo from Nao-san, who said, “I had this image of a man who is floating in the sea, and then a ship comes and he gets on it and heads to a new land.” I thought it was miraculous and felt like I was witnessing an amazing moment. So I personally think that the two were meant to meet at some point, and it was through a combination of such miracles that “Horizon Dreamer” and “Polytope” were born.

You even host a TV show on video games, so your love for them is pretty well known. What do you think makes Kojima-san’s games so compelling?

What I’ve been thinking about regarding Kojima-san’s works recently is that he’s someone who’s relentless in his craftsmanship. When you’re making something, there will be moments when you go, “This might not work.” And you probably come up with various ideas and overcome those moments. The thing about Kojima-san is that there’s no compromise in the way he does that. The message that he wants to convey, the things he wants to create, the passion with which he wants to create things with certain people, the camera angles, the way he depicts things… it’s like that gene is in everything. I think he’s a really relentless person.

Going back to your music, how do you feel about the epic sound of “Horizon Dreamer”?

It was so incredibly cool from the demo stage. I just focused on how I should express the music. The two songs are completely different in tone, but they’re like a set with connected parts. As I mentioned earlier, “Horizon Dreamer” has an indigenous or primitive feel to it, but the way Nao-san breezily transformed that into a Daichi Miura pop song is really amazing.

How about “Polytope”?

I think Nao-san trusts me with what he really wants to do, and it’s one of those songs where he’s like, “Daichi will be able to handle this” and just goes full out with it. In that sense, “Polytope” couldn’t have been created without this triangle of the DS 2 project and Kojima-san’s presence, and from the moment I heard both songs, I was excited about how I’d go about expressing them.

You’ve already released “Horizon Dreamer“ digitally, and performed ”Polytope” live (ahead of the single’s release). How do you feel about the response?

I premiered the music and performance at my concert, but to be honest, I don’t remember much about “Polytope.” I was so focused on expressing it that there was no room for thought… like I was in harmony with the music. I only vaguely remember what I was thinking and how I expressed it. But I do remember that the atmosphere in the venue after the performance was pretty incredible and that the audience was buzzing with excitement. Apparently everyone felt like they’d seen something they’d never seen before, and that makes me happy.

“Horizon Dreamer” is a song that invites everyone to sing and dance together, so there might have been some confusion about the tone and performance of “Polytope.” Do you see those two songs as two sides of the same coin in terms of expression?

“Horizon Dreamer“ ends with the lyrics, ”The sun’s going down again today,” and “Polytope” begins, ”The sun’s setting,” so there’s a connection here. The staging of the live performance of “Polytope” also starts with a setting sun, so that’s also perfectly linked. While the songs depict different worlds from a sonic standpoint, I feel that their roots are the same, so it’s really like a gradation. I’d like people to listen to every part of the songs, especially “Polytope,” and wonder, “What’s this world like?” and experience them together with the game.

In your recent Instagram Live, you repeatedly said you wanted people to try playing DS 2.

I have a feeling that for a lot of people who don’t play video games, the rough idea of what they’re like actually hasn’t been updated for a long time. But they’re pretty incredible nowadays. Video games are the only kind of entertainment where you can play it yourself and control the main character. They contain elements of music, stories and drama, cinematic aspects, and are truly a comprehensive art form in my view. As a gamer and game fan, I feel pretty disappointed that so many people aren’t aware of this. I wish it would reach a wider audience somehow.

So, if there are people out there who know about me, and they found out about DEATH STRANDING 2 through me, then I’d really like them to try it out once. I’m sure you’ll be pretty amazed… I really encourage everyone to experience it.

Japanese video games are highly acclaimed around the world. Do you also want to introduce your music to a global audience along with DS 2?

I’ve never considered collaborating with a video game intending to reach a global audience through the game. I’m a fan of music, a fan of games, a fan of Kojima-san, and a fan of Nao-san, so it’s like I’m immersed in the joy of being able to devote all my energy to the things I love and to create something with all my might here. But  Kojima-san is someone who continues to create works that are loved by many players everywhere, so if people happen to find out about me through a game of his, of course I’d be very happy about it.

—This interview by Takayuki Okamoto first appeared on Billboard Japan