Sabrina Carpenter‘s work with PLUS1 has been anything but stupid, slow and useless, as the pop star has now raised more than $1 million for mental health initiatives, LGBTQ+ rights and animal welfare on the site.
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As announced by PLUS1 on Monday (June 30), the singer has surpassed the seven-digit milestone in her fundraising efforts on the platform. The Sabrina Carpenter Fund is also now PLUS1’s fastest-growing artist fund to date.
The news comes less than a year after Carpenter launched her fund with the nonprofit, with which she has partnered throughout her Short n’ Sweet Tour. Her work with PLUS1 has involved raising money for “local and community-driven organizations to provide funding and amplification for their missions,” according to a release.
“Sabrina’s approach to philanthropy shows what’s possible when an artist truly commits to embedding impact across their work,” said PLUS1 CEO and founder Marika Anthony-Shaw in a statement. “Sabrina is setting a new standard, one where social impact becomes woven into an artist’s career to create meaningful, lasting change.”
Through PLUS1, Carpenter was able to tailor her charitable initiatives around three causes that are closest to her heart: mental health, the LGBTQ+ community and animals. Her fund has supported all three missions by backing organizations such as UK-based suicide prevention center PAPYRUS and global LGBTQ+ nonprofit Rainbow Railroad.
The two-time Grammy winner has also championed the JED Foundation and MusiCares’ initiatives to provide mental health resources to those in need, the LGBTQ National Help Center’s crisis-prevention efforts, and Best Friends Animal Society’s animal-rescue adoption programs with PLUS1.
News of Carpenter’s philanthropic win comes as she’s entering a new musical era. Shortly after dropping new single “Manchild” — which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in June — the pop star announced that her next album, Man’s Best Friend, will arrive in August, just one year after the release of her breakthrough LP Short n’ Sweet.
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 19:33:482025-06-30 19:33:48Sabrina Carpenter Raises $1 Million for Mental Health Initiatives & LGBTQ+ Rights in Less Than a Year
Following Bob Vylan‘s controversial Glastonbury set on Saturday (June 28), the punk-rap duo was dropped by its booking agent, UTA, Billboard U.K. can confirm.
Deadline first reported that UTA executives decided over the weekend to part ways with the duo — composed of Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan — after assessing the comments made by Bobby during the set. The band no longer appears on the agency’s website; Billboard U.K. has approached the band’s remaining representatives for further comment.
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Bobby sparked outrage during the show as he led the audience in a chant of “death, death to the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces).” He also called for a “free Palestine” and said that “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The festival called the former chant “appalling” in a statement, with organisers saying the act had “crossed a line.” The chant was also condemned by the U.K.’s prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who called it “appalling hate speech.”
The Ipswich-based duo performed before Kneecap on the West Holts stage. The latter’s set was one of the most anticipated of the weekend and drew a huge crowd; Kneecap member Mo Chara was recently charged with a terror offense following the emergence of a video in which he allegedly waved a Hezbollah flag. Hezbollah is proscribed terror status by the U.K. government, and it is considered an offense to display support for it.
As a result, Kneecap’s set was not broadcast live on the BBC and its iPlayer service; Bob Vylan’s, however, was shown live. On Monday morning (June 30), the BBC expressed “regret” at airing the set in full, and it has since been removed from the streaming service.
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“The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen,” a spokesperson said. “The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.”
British regulator Ofcom is in touch with the BBC about the broadcast. “We are very concerned about the live stream of this performance, and the BBC clearly has questions to answer. We have been speaking to the BBC over the weekend and we are obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.”
Avon and Somerset Police have said that they will be investigating the performance to see if any offenses have been committed.
Posting on Instagram on Sunday evening (June 29), Bobby told his fans that he had been “inundated” with a mixture of “support and hatred” since appearing at Glastonbury, but that he stood by what he said and is calling for “a change in foreign policy.”
Glastonbury Festival concluded on Sunday with a headline set from Olivia Rodrigo, with Charli xcx, Doechii, The 1975 and Neil Young also performing over the weekend. The festival is due to take a fallow year in 2026 and will return in 2027.
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 19:16:112025-06-30 19:16:11Bob Vylan Dropped by Booking Agent After Controversial Glastonbury Set, ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant
Rihannastrutted the blue carpet of the Smurfs movie premiere in Brussels, Belgium, on June 28, but it’s not the only “blue” thing she’s loving.
U.K. radio network Capital asked the superstar what her go-to karaoke song is in a TikTok clip, and she revealed that it’s “Burning Blue” by Mariah the Scientist.
Released on May 2 via Buckles Laboratories and Epic Records, “Burning Blue” is the lead single from the R&B singer’s upcoming fourth studio album. It peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her highest charting entry on the all-genre songs tally, and recently came in at at No. 25 on Billboard‘s 50 best songs of 2025 so far list.
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Rihanna, who produced Smurfs and voices Smurfette in the live-action animated musical film, also contributed a song to the Smurfs movie soundtrack titled “Friend of Mine.” Jon Bellion, the song’s co-producer, told Billboardthat “Friend of Mine” came together during one of his writing camps at his vacation home in the Hamptons last summer. “So when do you nail the feel-good, family-friendly, high-taste, deep ‘90s nostalgia, that can also be played into the kids movie? Shoot it out into the world!” he said.
Tyla, Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Natania, Shenseea and more also contributed original songs to Smurfs Movie Soundtrack. The Smurfs hits theaters in the U.S. on July 18.
With blue being such a highly discussed color, does that mean RiRi and A$AP Rocky will be having another baby boy? Rocky hinted at what that their sons RZA and Riot Rose might be getting for their next sibling while talking to Entertainment Tonight on the carpet, while Ri was a bit more tight-lipped, teasing: “Let’s see if it’s a Smurfette!” she quipped to ET. “Could be a Papa Smurf, who knows?”
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Sam’s Club is making the most of the summer with can’t-miss deals you can shop right now.
Ahead of the backyard barbecues and fireworks, Sam’s Club is celebrating the Fourth of July with sales up to 23% off on everything from kitchenware to home decor. To help beef up your cart and narrow down your picks, we’ve compiled a list of products you can shop now from top brands like KitchenAid, Philips and Cuisinart. You’ll want to get go shopping ASAP. This sale ends on July 9.
KitchenAid Hard Anodized Ceramic 10-Piece Nonstick Cookware Pots and Pans Set
If you’re prepping to cook up sweet corn and your mother’s famed potato salad at your upcoming Fourth of July barbecue, you’ll need a good set of pots and pans to get you through. This six-piece set from KitchenAid will definitely do the trick. Retailing for $169.98, each piece is non-stick and made of anodized ceramic that’s eight times more durable than aluminum and, most importantly, easy to clean.
The set comes with a 1.5-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart saucepan with lid, 8-quart stockpot with lid, 5-quart sauté pan with lid, 8.25-inch frying pan and 10-inch frying pan. The tempered glass lids are shatter-resistant and lock in heat and moisture. With this set in your arsenal, you’ll be frying up, sautéing and boiling like a pro in no time.
iDesign Set of 2 Clear Divided Lazy Susan Turntables
There’s nothing more satisfying than organizing your things in little compartments. The decluttering pastime is so popular that it’s become an extremely popular subgenre on apps such as TikTok. Retailing for $23.98, these iDesign Clear Divided Lazy Susan Turntables will make your cleanup and storage job totally Instagrammable.
Each divider is made of clear and durable BPA-free plastic and comes equipped with five slots. The product measures 11.5″ x 11.5″ x 4.5″, meaning both pieces can easily fit into compact places such as the pantry or nestled into drawers. The plastic containers rotate gently, giving users a 360-degree view of what’s stored inside. From the bedroom to the bathroom, anywhere you need compact and clean storage, these work great.
Member’s Mark Everwash Washable Area Rug in Teal Geo
If you’re redecorating ahead of your next Fourth of July party, you’ll want to check out Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark section. It currently has a slew of rugs to choose from that’ll instantly liven up a space. Our pick from the members-only section is the Everwash Washable Area Rug in Teal Geo. The piece retails for $79.98, 20% off its original price, and features a geometric print in shades of cream, gray and blue. This rug stands at 6’6″x 9’6″ and is pet- and kid-friendly. If you find yourself with a mustard and ketchup explosion on the big day, not to worry. This rug can easily be cleaned by popping it into the washing machine. Finally, a skid-resistant backing keeps the rug in place, even on the most slippery of surfaces.
Zinus Night Therapy Green Tea Memory Foam Pillow With Tencel Cover
After you’ve partied hard, it’s nice to kick back post barbecue. You’ll need a good pillow to give yourself the full effect, however, and this Zinus Night Therapy Green Tea Memory Foam Pillow might just do the trick. Retailing for $39.98, this plush pillow cradles the head while offering much-needed support for the neck and shoulders too.
This pillow is for our sweaty sleepers. The ventilated memory foam construction and green tea-infused foam promote freshness and better airflow, creating a cooling effect. The accompanying Tencel™ blend cover draws out moisture, keeping you dry and comfortable no matter the weather. True to its name, this pillow can help you get therapeutic sleep, Fourth of July or not.
Philips 2200 Automatic Espresso and Cappuccino Machine with with LatteGo Milk Frother
While our last pick prioritized sleep, this one is sure to keep you wired at an affordable price. Retailing for $447, this Philips 2200 Automatic Espresso and Cappuccino Machine gives you cafe-quality coffee drinks without ever having to leave your home. The piece is equipped with a LatteGo Milk Frother to create the perfect foamy top for lattes and cappuccinos every time.
If you’re in the mood for a simple cup of joe, the machine automatically grinds, tamps and brews your favorite coffee with the touch of a button. You can brew up to three coffee-based drinks including classic espresso, regular black coffee and cappuccinos, along with hot water for tea or hot cocoa. Like your coffee strong and black? Or how about mild? This machine allows you to change the strength and volume of your beverage. Thanks to this Philips deal, you’ll be feeling like a professional barista in no time.
Cuisinart Classic 6-Piece Stainless Steel Chopping Cleaver Set
In the spirit of cooking this Fourth of July, you’ll also need a good set of knives. This stainless steel set of six cleavers will get you through the chopping, shucking and dicing you’ll be doing ahead of your barbecue. Retailing for $19.98, this Cuisinart set includes a 7″ Cleaver, 7″ Nakiri & 4.5″ Mini Cleaver along with matching blade guards to keep your cleavers in tip-top shape after every use. Each blade is fitted with a hollow ergonomic handle that fits snugly into the palm of your hand. This set would make a great gift for the people in your life who are a little too into MasterChef.
After the fireworks go off and the barbecue is had, you’ll need to prioritize a good sleep. This GhostBed Medium Hybrid Mattress should get you there. Retailing for $399 and up, this mattress is available in a range of sizes from twin to California king, which all vary in price based on size.
Regardless of the size, the mattress is made of five layers of premium materials with a balanced, medium feel. You’ve got eco-friendly Bio Foam, along with responsive 6″ springs, giving the mattress a plush feel. The foam layers act to contour your body, relieving pressure. Whether you sleep on your side, back or in a position we’ve never heard of, this mattress will ensure your best night’s sleep yet.
If your mattress is damaged, Sam’s Club offers buyers a 25-year warranty, no questions asked.
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 18:50:452025-06-30 18:50:45Celebrate Before the Fireworks & Take Advantage of These Fourth of July Deals at Sam’s Club
Alex Warren’s ‘Ordinary’ No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for Fourth Week
The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020 — and a week earlier marked their 250th week — rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“Ordinary” tops the Global 200 with 65.9 million streams and 11,000 sold (down 4% week-over-week in each metric) worldwide June 20-26.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” holds at its No. 2 high on the Global 200; Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” rebounds 4-3, after 18 weeks at No. 1 starting last September; ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” ascends 5-4, after 12 weeks at No. 1 beginning in November; and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” glides 6-5, following three weeks at No. 1 last August.
“Ordinary” rules Global Excl. U.S. with 48 million streams (down 5%) and 4,000 sold (down 2%) outside the U.S.
“Die With a Smile” rises 3-2 after 17 weeks atop Global Excl. U.S. starting last September; “APT.” walks up 5-3, after reigning for a record 19 weeks beginning in November; “Manchild” holds at No. 4, after hitting No. 2; and j-hope and GloRilla’s “Killin’ It Girl” places at No. 5, a week after it debuted at No. 2.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated July 5, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, July 1. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 18:50:452025-06-30 18:50:45Alex Warren’s ‘Ordinary’ Continues No. 1 Run on Billboard Global Charts
“I mean, if it was up to me, I’d be f–king coming down from the ceiling every show and going back up to end the show. Or I would start the show outside the venue and be followed on camera all the way, like…”
This is rising pop singer-songwriter Rebecca Black, fantasizing about her ultimate live entrance. It’s the kind of scale that only a handful of superstars have both the means and the imagination to consistently pull off in 2025, and Black knows that she’s not quite there yet. But with each successive project, each successive tour, she’s getting a little bit closer — to the point where now, the reality of it bears far more resemblance to the fantasy than most, perhaps even Black herself, would’ve once thought possible.
Only 28 years old, Rebecca Black has already lived multiple pop lifetimes in her career. The latest started in earnest with the 2021 EP Rebecca Black Was Here, a transfixing set of sonically unpredictable, smartly written alt-pop gems, which was followed a couple years later by an equally impressive full-length debut in 2023’s crushingly vivid TRUST! LP. Both works nodded towards the frenetic production and pulse-racing beats of the hyperpop scene dominating the underground in the early 2020s — and she’s matched them with regular hyperpop-inflected DJ sets, including a high-profile 2024 Boiler Room gig, which have further established her within the dance world — but with much fuller and more varied songs than that subgenre tended to produce.
“I think my biggest gripe with hyperpop for many years in that kind of early stage was it felt like, ‘Oh, these are some of the coolest sounds I’ve ever heard – where’s the song?’” she tells Billboard at a West Village café following a New York tour date this spring. “The Gwens and the Madonnas and the Gagas, the Katys… those are really strong pop songs [that they write]. And that’s always really been so important to me.”
Rebecca Black performs at OUTLOUD 2025.
Emily Eizen
In addition to the fleshed-out songwriting, Black has also long displayed the pop vision and personality of a performer who grew up following those big-dreaming top 40 icons. Each of her 2020s releases, along with their accompanying visuals, has further fleshed out the Rebecca Black universe, building out an expressive and occasionally confrontational aesthetic that has enraptured more and more fans. During interviews, she’s thoughtful but often theatrical, sliding in and out of different accents or mini-personas with the ease of peak Nicki Minaj. And even at a low-four-digit-cap venue like Brooklyn’s Warsaw — where she played to a ravenous, packed-to-the-back crowd in support of her latest widescreen effort, this February’s dazzling Salvation EP — she brings extensive choreography, multiple costume changes (with video interludes), thematic coherence and enough of the kind of capital-M Moments to make those pop heroes beam with pride and recognition.
One of them was even impressed enough to invite her on tour with them. Black is currently in between legs of opening for Katy Perry on her Lifetimes Tour, taking her to the kind of arenas around the country that she hopes to one day be headlining. Perry even stopped by a date on Black’s own Salvation Tour — where Black had been mixing in an occasional encore cover of Perry’s controversial, pre-crossover single “Ur So Gay” — to publicly ask for Black’s hand in touring.
“I had no idea she was even aware of what I was doing these days, until I got a text, maybe six months ago, being like, ‘Katy just listened to [Salvation highlight] “Sugar Water Cyanide” and thinks it fucking slaps,” she gleefully recalls to Billboard during a second interview, from a hotel in Toronto last week.
The “these days” in Black’s quote is a sometimes-needed reminder that she does actually have history with Perry, and indeed was herself briefly a major part of the pop landscape around the same time as that superstar’s Teenage Dream-era peak. In 2011, the viral sensation “Friday” made a 13-year-old Rebecca Black a household name — though for different reasons than most teen-pop aspirants would hope, as the Ark Music Factory prefab concoction bewitched the public not just for its brain-sticking chorus, but for the unshakeable dissonance of its surreal lyrics and close-but-not-quite top 40 production. The song and its success (it even hit the Billboard Hot 100) made the teenage Black a target for some particularly cruel and unfair internet mockery, but it also inspired a couple of the era’s A-listers to rush to her defense — including Perry, who featured Black in her own 2011 music video for the Hot 100-topping “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).”
Now, Black gets to return the favor to her pop idol, as Perry undergoes some backlash of her own while out on the Lifetimes Tour, which the star has acknowledged and responded to. “All I can say is, like — watch the show. Watch the whole show. There’s a million creative decisions that get made [as part] of that thing that I, in person, was so impressed by,” Black raves in Perry’s defense. “As somebody who had my back in a time where many people didn’t, I will absolutely have hers — and not just because [of that], but just because I do really believe in the artist that she is and and always has been.”
While on break from Lifetimes, Black has been playing a number of festivals — including her first-ever appearance at Bonnaroo, getting in her Thursday night DJ set before the rest of the festival had to be canceled due to weather concerns — and also headlining a number of Pride Month events, with a weekend of festivities awaiting her in and around Toronto when she spoke to Billboard last Friday.
“I come from a very conservative part of California, and I feel the line shift when I cross this freeway and when I have conversations with people in my life — I feel the importance to keep the fight moving,” says Black, who has been vocally out as queer since 2020, when asked about the tenor of Pride events in a politically fraught 2025 landscape. “And yeah, it’s like a very gorgeously fun, celebratory month — but it’s also a glaring reminder of of what’s happening for so many in our community and so many of these spaces people just can’t escape.”
Black will get back on the road with Perry in July, having learned important lessons from the first part of their trek together — including how to play for more of an all-ages crowd than she’s used to at her own gigs. (“I’m not afraid of bringing gay s–t around children,” she clarifies, “but I also, at the same time, am trying to watch my mouth a little bit.”) Salvation continues to bring her to new audiences, as the songs from that album have even pushed “Friday” — which she is not currently performing live, but still nods to via a hyperpopified remix of it — off the most popular songs on her Spotify front page. And as always, she’s looking to continue growing her live performance saying she’s looking to “beef up the show a little bit” for this next run of dates.
Will that include one of her entrance fantasies? “If I’m going to come down from the ceiling, you’re not going to know till that happens,” she teases.
Below is Billboard‘s conversation with Black from her Salvation Tour — about trying to make it as an independent, self-made pop star in an era where making it as such a pop star maybe feels a little more possible than it once did, and about why her show makes more sense the bigger that it gets. (This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.)
This was my first time seeing you live, but the guys in back of me kept talking throughout the entire show about, “Oh, man, I’ve never seen choreo like this from her before. And the production, she’s really taken it to a new level.” Was it a real focus for you to scale up this time?
Well, I don’t know if the goal was, “Let’s make it bigger,” in just that way. “Let’s just create more of the world” was the biggest thing for me. And I didn’t know how we were going to be able to do it logistically. But it does feel like that’s the most consistent feedback — even my agents and people like that are just like, “OK, all right. This is different.” Which is exciting.
Has that been the goal for you in the last three projects — building out the world of what it means to be a Rebecca Black fan or Rebecca Black as an artist?
Yeah. I mean, with this project in particular, I feel like I’ve had a couple go-arounds now where I felt really sure about wanting to just flesh out as much as I could. And it’s always a challenge in terms of how to bring it to stage, versus how to put it in a video. And how to make a video look like it costs three times more that it actually did.
It feels like with pop stars these days — there’s a lot being asked of them when it comes to putting out a project. It’s no longer enough to just do the single and the album, and even the videos. You do need to have a kind of conceptual backing to all of it. It needs to feel like a larger era. Is there any part of that that you don’tnecessarily enjoy as much?
I think the only thing I don’t enjoy is when someone tells me that doing that is not worth it. And that was definitely a conversation I had going into this era. Being an independent artist of my size, especially before the rollout started, and before Trust, and before Boiler Room and all of those things. Like, the idea of presenting, “Hey, let’s put this much investment into something like a music video” — which, over the last 10 years has kind of had this reputation of having no return on investment from one side of the industry. Probably longer. I have an understanding of what visual content means to my project and what it means to my audience, and the way that it works. But it was incredibly validating to see that be the thing that has probably pushed me forward over this rollout.
How do you see that? Howcan you tell that it’s the videos that are making that kind of difference?
You see it everywhere. I know that the way that people consume these days isn’t by necessarily going on YouTube and watching the whole video — the way you consume is more in short clips. Unless it’s like a gay music video night.
But I just know the way people consume it is the one minute or 30-second clip that goes through social media — and it creates an identity and a very memorable moment for the song, whether it’s on a Twitter feed or Instagram or TikTok. And I want people to be able to delve into the world and understand the world within that time frame.
I saw in a recent interview you did that you were talking about reopening discussions of coming to Broadway at some point. Are you seeing these shows as almost like a training ground for that, for when that call eventually comes?
Sure. If the Broadway agents are listening, I’ve reintroduced that conversation to my team and world, and it’s something I’d love to do, if the moment was right and the show was right — you know, there’s certain roles that I would just love to play. I look at the shows more so as, like, auditions for arenas than I do anything else.
Well and you passed apparently, because that’s where you’re going next, right?
[Laughs.] I guess, yeah.
So that that was always a specific goal of yours, to play arenas? Is headlining something you want to do eventually?
Of course! I know that’s where the show deserves to be at the end of the day. And I said this to everyone in my world — I’ve been stepping into the venues on the Salvation tour, and the biggest I’ve played on any headlining dates, and it only feels more right. The show only feels more correct. The bigger the venue, the bigger the stage, the bigger the production. That’s just like, what is in my bones.
I think yousaid something last night about how this is the first time you’ve ever really felt comfortable in a project. Is that true? What made the difference to this one compared to thelast two?
I think having the reps really helps at this point. If there’s anything I’ve taken from my audience, is that they’re like, “Take the risk. Please take a bigger risk. And go further.”
That’s the feedback every artist wants, right?
Absolutely. And so I’m already trying to figure out what that’ll mean for, you know, the next thing. But I’ve just had some time to really build a relationship with people in my crowds. And I know them a little bit more now, and I’m very lucky that, like, what my crowd wants for me is what I want to give them.
Rebecca Black performs at OUTLOUD 2025.
Emily Eizen
Do you think that’s a thing about pop music in this particular point in time? I imagine if you were doing this 10 years ago, maybe you’d get more outside forces telling you not to take those risks, and maybe even the fans would be telling you not to take those risks. But do you think that we’re in a point in pop music where that’s actively being encouraged of our leading lights?
I think so. I mean, the internet has allowed for so many different communities to get really, really loud. For better and for worse. [Laughs.] And I think it’s no surprise that Charli xcx had the year that she had — and it feels like after the kind of hyperpop renaissance of the early 2020s, not only has her name been lifted, but it feels like SOPHIE is all over the place. Now it feels like Dylan Brady is all over the place. Whereas, those were once like, really niche, underground names. So yeah, I would hope that we keep moving in this direction.
Are you still active on the pop internet?
So active. I’ve been kind of busy on tour, but I’ve got the Gaga group chat. I love it. I live it.
Whatwent into the decision to do “Ur So Gay” on this tour?
Well, weirdly and truly coincidentally, I wanted to do that song as the encore before Lifetimes came into my life. I was working on planning out the set list with some people on my team, and “Salvation” felt like the obvious closer, because it’s so euphoric and so anthemic — it feels like it encapsulates this moment. But when it came to that cover — I knew I wasn’t going to perform “Friday” for this era. So it was like, “What do we do? What will keep people on their toes? What will surprise people?”
And it’s been nice to have it as kind of an every-now-and-again encore to surprise the audience and give a little bit of love to the cities that have shown me a lot of love over the years. And I just have always loved the song “Ur So Gay.” You know, I know she doesn’t perform it anymore for whatever reason…
Well, do you feel like it’s kind of a misunderstood song? Because it’s been polarizing over the years.
I do think it’s misunderstood. I do think it’s one of the best songs of its time — that era of Katy has just always sat with me so well. And it’s meant a lot to me since I was a kid.
I just think it was one of the first times I felt like I was resonating with someone — and I was really young — but I was resonating with someone doing something really different in pop. And it was the same time that Gaga was also paving her own patch. To me, those were just the two girls that I felt so inspired by the way that they took risks. I feel like people are talking a lot about, like, early, early Katy right now. And I think that she has just incredible, really visceral writing — and especially back in the day, I think she wrote some of the best pop songs.
You guys go way back, to your “Friday” days and her “Friday” days. Have you gotten to talk to her at all about the show or about playing arenas in general? Has she gotten a chance to kind of give you any sort of tools of the trade or anything like that?
We haven’t talked a lot about that. It’s kind of an insane moment to see somebody at such incredibly different points in each of your careers, in such a wide gap. It feels, I think, very full circle for both of us. The last time I saw her, she was 27 I think, or 28. I’m 27 now [she turned 28 in June]. So it was such a strange out-of-body experience — it felt crazy to see her. Also the last time I saw her, I was literally 14. But she’s been really generous and really kind. She always has been.
Going back to those early days — I’m sure having a moment like “Friday” must have been jumbling in all sorts of ways and created doubts, like, “Is this something that I really want to keep pursuing if this is what it’s gonna lead to?” Do you remember a time when you felt assured post-“Friday,” like, “I know I can still do this, and I know I still want to do this?”
There have definitely been many moments like that, and I had a lot of moments in my late teens, in my early 20s — I’ve been living in L.A. for 10 years this year, and it has not been easy. I’ve worked with some really f–king bizarre people and met some really… I’ve just had insane experiences that have made me question a lot. But over the years, I have also made these really important relationships in my life, with people I work with, people I create with, friends of mine… I feel like what I do now is so close to what I did when I was just obsessed with music and theater as a kid. You know, I feel like I’m just playing all day, and if I could have looked at what my life would look like now, I wouldn’t even have believed that was the case.
I think that after I released Rebecca Black Was Here, which was kind of the first EP back when I started re-presenting myself — which was also kind of around the same time I did the “Friday” remix — I started making real relationships with artists in the community, and I just felt genuinely accepted, and less like I had this kind of metaphorical “Kick Me” sign. Or, like, toilet paper off my shoe.
I had an epiphany of my own last night as I was watching you, and looking at the crowd, and I sort of did the math in my head — and I realized there are almost definitely people at the show who don’t have any frame of reference for “Friday.” That was 14 years ago at this point, so if there’s a 20-year-old in the audience — which I’m sure there were — maybe they’ve heard of it, but they didn’t necessarily grow up with it, they might not know you from it. Is it cool to get to the point in your career where that’s now a possibility?
Yeah. I mean, definitely also scary, in the sense that it makes me feel so old. Because even for me — I’ve always felt kind of perpetually young, in the sense that I’m surrounded by older people. So when people are like, “Yeah, I was six when ‘Friday’ came out,” I’m like, “UGHHHHHH….”
About feeling old these days — it’s kind of a good time for “old” pop stars, isn’t it? Not only for someone like Charli XCX, who is obviously in her 30s, and has been in the game forever. But even someone like Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan — they’re nowhere near old, they might even be younger than you are — but they’ve been around for years, and they’ve built a fan base, and they’re not popping off of one song, they’re popping off from who they are. Is that encouraging to someone like you who’s also been in the game for a little bit at this point?
Of course. What I love to see is that every queen out there right now has such a defined sense of who they are as an artist. And that only makes it so much easier as a fan to get in. I’m a fan of everyone. Like, I… love… pop. So it’s exciting to see everyone kind of in their own lane, doing really well.
So as you kind of feel yourself scaling up and playing bigger venues and being on the cusp of something, do you kind of feel like your natural defenses start to rise a little bit, because you have seen the kind of downside of that fame? Do you get to a point where you’re almost like, “I don’t know if I want to do this again?”
I think what I know is that at any given point in time, the internet can decide whatever it wants for itself. What I am to the majority of people on the internet is just something that keeps them entertained on their feeds. You know, obviously I have people who are there, and love the music and are here with me and invested — I’m not talking about those people. I’m talking about the kind of way this internet moves with people when they’re bored. And there’s always a story — every artist, every person on the internet, every figure has a story around them. And there’s always an arc. And it always feels like it has to be moving. And so if that means that it goes one way or another — I feel like I just don’t take it personally.
It seems like you have a pretty healthy relationship with criticism in general at this point.
We try. [Exhausted sounding] We tryyy... You know, it’s hard, but I’m way more concerned with the people who really know me, how they feel, more than anything.
But is there a point in the future that you could see yourself maybe hitting the pause button, saying, “Okay, I’m comfortable with the level I am now, and don’t necessarily want to keep growing from here?” Or is it just see where this thing takes you, and kind of go on the rocket ship until you can’t go any higher?
I just want to create the biggest stuff that I can. Whatever happens with it — I just want a budget. Whether or not anyone cares, I just want to make the thing, and have it exist. Because that’s the fun part for me. And obviously, letting that live on a stage in a room full of people is its own battle. But I don’t really care — I just want to keep the relationship going where I get to make what I love and my audience loves what I make. And whatever ceiling that has is okay with me.
Does the timing feel good, in terms of all these other things happening in pop music, and you being at a point in your life where you’re comfortable with both who you are as a person and who you are as an artist — and the pop internet actually kinda making stars out of their favorite pop stars these days?
Maybe, yeah. I mean, I love to see the way people have redefined what it means to be a pop star. It feels awesome to see everyone who is really putting their all into it — and this includes, like, the Addison Raes — it’s really awesome to see everyone get their flowers. It’s just awesome to see people not write someone off immediately because they don’t understand the first thing that you did. Because, if you did that with any of your favorite artists… you wouldn’t have any of your favorite artists.
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 18:50:442025-06-30 18:50:44Rebecca Black Just Wants a Budget
In the summer of 1976, a young man named Lyle Lovett stood with his guitar before the customers at The Mariner, a seafood and steak restaurant in Houston, Texas. He wasn’t famous then — far from it. Lovett was a freshman at Texas A&M University, earning his first paychecks as a musician. Together with his high school friend Bruce Lyon, he played songs by Texas singer-songwriters such as Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Willie Nelson. These were not songs people typically heard while waiting for their table. But for Lovett, these songs were essential to his formation as a singer-songwriter.
“They were songs I thought were important,” Lovett tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. “Ultimately, they were the kind of songs that taught me how to write and taught me what a song could be.”
Performing at places such as The Mariner restaurant may not have been glamorous, but it was foundational. Lovett wasn’t just learning how to perform — he was absorbing the essence of songwriting.
Lovett’s origin story isn’t unique. Small venues are crucial places where young musicians learn their trades and network with other musicians. In Lovett’s case, his journey began at Texas A&M’s Basement Coffee House, a listening room he helped run during his first years of college. The venue could hold no more than 100 people, says Lovett, but it helped shape his approach to performing live.
As a member of the Basement Coffee House’s student programming committee, Lovett was handed a notebook filled with names and phone numbers. “OK, you’re in charge of programming,” he remembers being told. Suddenly, he was booking musicians, running auditions and filling slots for Friday and Saturday night performances. “I got to know everybody on campus and everybody in town who wanted to play,” he says. It was a valuable education to go alongside the formal education he was receiving.
For Lovett, performing music in Texas in the late 1970s meant playing two roles: the singer-songwriter rooted in storytelling and the performer playing well known songs, and aspiring to someday perform originals, in hamburger joints. “The difference in the places where people expected to hear covers, those were places where music really wasn’t the point,” he says. At venues such as Poor David’s Pub or Austin’s Alamo Lounge, the music was the draw.
Anderson Fair in Houston would become particularly significant for Lovett. After opening for Nanci Griffith at the Texas A&M Coffee House, Griffith urged Lovett to visit Anderson Fair. She invited him to play a few songs during her boyfriend’s set. Over time, seeing Griffith and other songwriters such as Don Sanders and Eric Taylor schooled Lovett on how songwriters expressed themselves through their music. “You could see what was important to each performer, what what each performer was trying to put forward personally, and that was all very informing,” he recalls.
It wasn’t just the venues, though. Lovett shaped his style and learned about the art of performing by watching other musicians. He remembers seeing Michael Murphy (later named Michael Martin Murphy) play in 1975 at Texas A&M’s basketball arena — a massive space compared to the coffee house. Murphy performed solo for the first hour of a two-hour set, making the huge space feel intimate. Martin Murphy was riding high at the time, Lovett recalls, with the song “Wildfire” climbing the charts. Lovett was captivated. “He and his guitar were a complete performance,” he recalls.
By the fall of 1978, Lovett had enough of his own songs to perform a full set of original music. “It took me a couple of years to have enough of my own songs,” he says. This transition — from playing covers to writing his own music — was the turning point. He learned to balance his admiration for Texas songwriters with his desire to carve his own path.
Years later, Lovett would become a household name — at least in some quarters. Lovett signed with MCA Records and released his debut album, Lyle Lovett, in 1986. His next six albums went gold. Without a breakthrough hit single, Lovett made a name for himself as a unique songwriter and performer who absorbed the lessons learned in Houston’s burger joints and small venues. His latest album, 12th of June, released in 2022 on Verve/Forecast, are personal and characterized by Lovett’s singular wit, proving that the lessons of his early Texas singer-songwriter days remain an influence on his songwriting.
The stages that Lovett now plays are considerably bigger than the restaurants and burger joints of his past, but a concert remains an opportunity for him to connect with an audience. If he gets a request, Lovett will be happy to oblige. “I’m thrilled when people from the audience will ask for song, and if we’re remotely practiced up enough to to get through it, I’ll try it. Even sometimes when we’re not, I’ll try it.”
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 18:31:022025-06-30 18:31:02From Burger Joints to Big Stages: Lyle Lovett on the Lessons of His Early Career
Clipse is restoring the feeling. Continuing with the Virginia-bred duo’s cinematic album rollout on Monday (June 30), Clipse — comprised of brothers Gene “No Malice” and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton — “revealed the star-studded batting lineup of features slated to appear onLet God Sort Em Out come July 11.
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LGSEO is packed with 13 songs fully produced by Skateboard P. Clipse kicked off the album rollout with “Ace Trumpet” and released the menacing “So Be It” music video on YouTube, but hasn’t made the single available on streaming services just yet.
It’s the first Clipse album in 16 years, since Til the Casket Drops landed in 2009. Malice departed from the group following a studio session with Rick Rubin and pursued a deeper relationship with his faith. However, he started to feel a purpose in rap in recent years while making baby steps with features alongside his brother on projects such as Pusha’s It’s Almost Dry and Ye’s Jesus Is King.
Def Jam allegedly attempted to block Kendrick Lamar’s feature on the forthcoming Clipse album, which resulted in Pusha T negotiating a seven-figure buyout from the label. Pusha and Malice have since brought their talents to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in a new distribution deal.
The Thornton brothers will be hitting the road this summerin support of Let God Sort Em Out with a U.S. tour scheduled to start in Boston on Aug. 3.
The Clipse will also make stops in NYC, Philly, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego, and wraps up in Detroit on Sept. 10.
Find the tracklist below and look for Let God Sort Em Out.
“The Birds Don’t Sing” Feat. John Legend & Voices of Fire
“Chains & Whips” Feat. Kendrick Lamar
“P.O.V.” Feat. Tyler, The Creator
“So Be It Pt. II”
“Ace Trumpets”
“All Things Considered” Feat. The-Dream & Pharrell Williams
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 18:26:192025-06-30 18:26:19Clipse Reveals ‘Let God Sort Em Out’ Tracklist Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Nas & Tyler, the Creator
Christine Karayan, owner of Los Angeles’ Troubadour, has a million stories to tell about the famed venue. There was the time when Tom Petty was set to perform three songs for a benefit, but was feeling the atmosphere so much he played his greatest hits for an hour. There was the time Karayan helped Bonnie Raitt type up lyrics for her show and Raitt kept kindly asking for the font to be bigger. Then there was the time Karayan quietly cried during sound check when her favorite band Depeche Mode finally played the Troubadour for the first time.
“Right before doors, I ran in front of the stage and told everybody, ‘I’m not working. I don’t care if the building falls down. I don’t care if it catches on fire. Leave me alone,’” Karayan recalls of the 2013 show. A photo of that night’s performance has been her computer background screen ever since.
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Sitting in the 500-capacity venue on the heavily foot-trafficked Santa Monica Boulevard with no lights, just the sunlight from the front windows illuminating the nearly 70-year-old wooden bar and original stools on a Thursday afternoon, Karayan can sound a little exasperated by her years working at and running The Troubadour. She started doing odd jobs around the venue in her teens and decades later – after a short stint away to pursue a business degree in college – acting as general manager is second nature.
“If there is a problem [at the Troubadour] f—king email me and I’ll deal with it. Call me. I’m gonna take care of it,” Karayan says. “My skin’s in the game. There’s no ifs/ands about it. This is not me trying to get to a different venue or getting a different position. I’m here. If the wall is falling, I’m gonna stand and hold it up.”
Neon Troubadour sign.
Bridget Limon
The Troubadour is a standalone independent venue. It is not owned or operated by one of the big promoters like Live Nation or AEG, nor is there a larger promotion arm or a string of varying sized venues for artists to continue playing as they grow in popularity. The storied venue, first opened in 1957, is one and done with only six full-time employees and typically no more than 20 staff on site for a show including bartenders and security. With ownership of the venue only belonging to two families since opening, Karayan calls it a family business full of a dedicated staff that cares deeply about the Troubadour and its history.
“Myself included, we’re all kind of insane,” Karayan tells Billboard. “You have to be insane to work in this environment.”
“We could be a sitcom,” says Troubadour talent booker Jordan Anderson.
“We’re a mishmosh of people, but overall we all get along,” says Karayan. “Thank god.”
The eclectic group of employees is fitting based on the Troubadour’s founder. Doug Weston (whose name still graces the building’s facade) was of German descent and wanted to create an intimate space for writers, musicians and comedians to gather in the 1950s. Weston first opened a small spot on La Cienega Boulevard in LA before moving to its current location in 1957 on the border of Beverly Hills where it has remained for nearly 70 years.
“Doug was a very flamboyant man, very well spoken, very eloquent, very intelligent,” says Karayan of Weston who was openly gay. “He wanted a place that welcomed everyone, that inspired creativity and so he came up with the Troubadour.”
The bar at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.
Bridget Limon
Weston built out the small club with a warm wood paneling, an intricately carved wooden bar imported from Europe and, originally, wooden picnic benches to give the feel of a German beer garden. The Troubadour has been reshaped a few times over the decades including moving the stage from the back of the show room to the side, changing the location of the green room and moving the business offices (Weston’s office, which featured a hot tub, was moved to make room for The Loft bar) are now located in a separate building behind the venue. While the paneling and the imported bar remain, today’s Troubadour is an open floor with an overhanging balcony and not a bad view in the house.
Weston was a controversial figure at times for his beliefs on how hard he worked his staff and recording rights at the club, according to a Los Angeles Timesobituary, but he accomplished what he set out to do: creating a legendary venue for all creatives. Shortly after opening, daring comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested for obscenity for his set at the Troubadour. Comedian Richard Pryor opened Nina Simone’s mini residency. Joni Mitchell played her first LA show in 1968. Neil Young and James Taylor made their solo debuts at the club in 1969 and The Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey meet at the front bar in 1970. That same year, Elton John made his U.S. debut at the club and the night before her untimely death, Janis Joplin was seen hanging at the Troubadour.
The list goes on with performances from Tom Waits, Billy Joel, Donny Hathaway, Van Morrison, Pointer Sisters, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Metallica, Gun ‘n Roses, Korn, No Doubt and countless more. With fewer than 15 years under its belt, the venue became the spot for an LA underplay gig when Led Zeppelin played a three-hour jam session following a show at the 18,000-capacity LA Forum.
Mötley Crüe perform at the Troubadour on Oct. 7, 2024 in West Hollywood.
Sam Shapiro
Despite its early success, the venue began to hemorrhage money in the early 1980s due to the changing musical scene and poor management. Weston turned to an unlikely friend Ed Karayan, who owned a mechanic shop that Weston frequented, and asked for help with the business.
“Ed took me to dinner and would tell stories about him coming into this space,” says Anderson, who worked with Ed Karayan before his passing earlier this year. “He said Doug came to him and said, ‘I’m going to lose my baby’ and Ed was like, ‘What do you mean you’re baby?’” The elder Karayan told Anderson that Weston brought him to the Troubadour and said, “This is my baby.”
Ed Karayan became a co-owner of the Troubadour and helped turn its finances around despite knowing very little about the live music industry, while Weston continued on the creative side.
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Weston’s baby lives on over 25 years after his passing even after it faced dire straits during the pandemic. When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered all live events, two things saved the Troubadour from permanently closing: a GoFundMe that raised $70,000 to pay basic bills and employees, and the fact that they own their building.
Several entities attempted to convince the Karayans to sell the Troubadour during the most difficult months of the pandemic, but Christine says the answer has always been a “hard no.”
“It felt dirty, but, I mean, it’s business,” says Karayan, who explains that the venue is just a small business that’s never going to make anyone a millionaire, but serves as a place to bring music lovers joy. Without parking or VIP packages or other ways to upcharge fans, the Troubadour survives on the bar and fans and bands wanting to come back time and time again. Karayan explains that a night out in LA means paying for transportation or parking, childcare, dinner, drinks, etc., which leads to a night out costing $200, so raising ticket prices (currently $25-$35) on fans would be short sighted.
“That is the difference between the [independent venues], we all pay attention to that,” says Anderson, adding that selling to one of the major promoters would take that consideration out of their hands. “The moment [the Troubadour] isn’t indie anymore, that changes everything.”
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.pngYveto2025-06-30 18:07:062025-06-30 18:07:06How the Troubadour Keeps Its Indie Heart Beating After Nearly 70 Years: ‘We’re All Kind of Insane’
Tetris Kelly: As we step outside for the summer, there’s a new debut on the chart. This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated July 5. Debuting at No. 10 is Cardi B with “Outside.” Teddy Swims stays locked at nine, as do Gaga and Bruno at eight and Shaboozey at No. 7. Kendrick and SZA fall to six, while Morgan moves up to five. His “Just In Case” is still at four. “Manchild” is down to No. 3, with Tate and Morgan increasing to No. 2. And grabbing a fourth week at No. 1 is Alex Warren with “Ordinary.”
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