Say what?! SEVENTEEN sat down for a round of hilarity when members SEUNGKWAN, THE 8, VERNON and MINGYU did BuzzFeed Celeb’s popular “Thirst Tweets” series — and the guys couldn’t help but lovingly roast each other during the segment.

Before getting started, MINGYU admitted to his fellow bandmates, “I thought it would be fun from the moment I heard we were doing this,” with SEUNGKWAN chiming in, “You know, we’ve heard a lot of thirst comments from fans over the years, so I’m hoping some of them go a bit bold. I’m excited to see just how much they’ll make us laugh.”

While the fan messages did make the guys laugh, a lot of it was thanks to their ribbing of each other and themselves. The fun all started with the first tweet, which suggested “f–k” the puppy interview SEVENTEEN did in 2022, with the fan noting that “Thirst Tweets” is where it’s at. And they weren’t wrong.

“It might be my first time saying ‘f–k’ on camera,” admitted SEUNGKWAN, before offering a tip to viewers. “We also have a song called ‘FML,’ so please have a listen to it.”

When Vernon read a fan tweet that THE 8’s “angelic pastel mullet” and “thick, soft neck” reminded one of “a sexy My Little Pony,” MINGYU chimed in, “Like the donkey from Shrek? You know — Donkey!”

There were also a lot of tweets regarding how handsome fans think the guys of SEVENTEEN are (with several messages about SEUNGKWAN’s high cheekbones and strong jawline, which he reveled in), which led to some ribbing. Read MINGYU: “His hairline is perfect, his skin is glowing, his cheeks are plumpy, his fangs are pretty, his smile is mesmerizing, his mole nose is kissable his curved-up lips are to die for. Mingyu is just perfect.” He followed that up by asking his bandmates whether they agreed, and Vernon was quick to answer with an emphatic “No!”

SEUNGKWAN — who had delicately traced MINGYU’s lips with his fingertip while the tweet was being read — turned and asked him, “Everything is natural?” When MINGYU answered in the affirmative, SEUNGKWAN didn’t seem so sure. “Really?!” he responded in disbelief, at which point, his bandmate told him to “STFU,” causing SEUNGKWAN to cover his mouth in mock horror as he repeated the expletive.

But it didn’t end there. When one fan’s tweet suggested that THE 8 could “spit on me and push me into a wall and I’d thank him,” the guys made fun of his actual strength — or lack there of, apparently. “He probably won’t be able to push you — he’s not that strong,” VERNON joked, with MINGYU landing a final blow: “When he pushes, maybe he’d be like, ‘Whoa!’ and bounce back himself.”

By the end, SEUNGKWAN admitted that he was a little worried the tweets they’d get would “be a bit safe,” but was glad they turned out to be “really funny.”

Watch the full “Thirst Tweets” interview with SEVENTEEN above. The band is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, releasing fifth studio album HAPPY BURSTDAY on May 26. The album peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 on the chart dated June 16.

Since the release of Wicked last fall, fans of the musical have been eagerly waiting for the second installment Wicked: For Good. One person who seems just as eager as everyone else to watch the movie? Actor Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero.

During his Wednesday (June 25) appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Bailey shared his reaction to the latest trailer for the sequel, which is set to release on Nov. 21. “It sort of teleports you back, but there’s so much that I didn’t see of the [Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande‘s] extraordinary work,” he said. “I’m a massive fan of Wicked, anyway, but like you I got to see so much stuff for the first time. And it is enchanting.”

The Bridgerton star singled out one scene in the trailer in particular, of “Cynthia and Ariana on a pink swing floating in the air” as a scene he was particularly excited to watch. But when Fallon pressed him for details on what looked like a wedding between his character and Grande’s Glinda, Bailey kept his lips sealed. “Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. I don’t marry and tell,” he said with a smirk.

Bailey’s not the only actor from the upcoming movie who’s excited to watch the final product. In Billboard‘s June cover story, Erivo told Pride editor Stephen Daw that her character, Elphaba, gets to “access her rage more” in the new film, adding that “she is delicious in this next one.”

Elsewhere during his Tonight Show interview, Bailey also reacted to the internet’s obsession with the eyewear he sports in his new film Jurassic World Rebirth, as fans have referred to his “slutty little glasses” as often as possible. “He’d be so proud to be called ‘slutty,’” he said of his character, before adding that the spectacles were a nod to the star of Steven Spielburg’s Jaws, Richard Dreyfuss.

Watch Jonathan Bailey’s full interview with Jimmy Fallon below:

Did you ever wonder what Tony Stark was like as a kid? The new Disney Jr. series Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends has you covered — and blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus crafted the “Totally Awesome” theme song to go with it, premiering exclusively on Billboard Family below.

The theme song — which will be released digitally Friday via Walt Disney Records — introduces the new show’s main characters, as Hoppus sings, “It’s totally awesome when I’m with my best friends/ It’s better than chocolate, it’s better than weekends.”

The series follows supergenius besties Stark (Iron Man), Riri Williams (Ironheart) and Amadeus Cho (Iron Hulk) “as they work together to solve problems, both big and small, and protect their city,” according to the show announcement. Each of the kid heroes (voiced by Mason Blomberg, Kapri Ladd and Aidyn Ahn) has his or her own Iron Suit that lets them fly and gives them “enhanced super-strength.” Other voice actors in the new series include Veep star Tony Hale as Ultron, Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer as Swarm, and Talon Warburton (son of Seinfeld star Patrick Warburton) as Absorbing Man.

Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends premieres Aug. 11 on Disney Jr. at 8:30 a.m. ET/PT and the first 10 episodes will hit Disney+ and Disney Jr. On Demand the next day.

As part of Grammy-nominated pop-punk band blink-182, Hoppus has scored three No. 1 albums on the all-genre Billboard 200 over his three-decade career: 2001’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, 2016’s California and, the group’s most recent project, 2023’s One More Time… They also have five No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart, starting with 1999’s “All the Small Things” and most recently spending 20 weeks atop the list with 2023’s “One More Time.”

Hoppus’ theme song follows in the footsteps of fellow alternative radio hitmaker Patrick Stump, lead singer of Fall Out Boy, crafting the theme song and additional music for Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends, which premiered in 2021 on Disney Jr.

Listen to “Totally Awesome” below:

AI music company Suno recently acquired WavTool, a browser-based digital audio workstation (DAW). Though this deal, Suno has brought WavTool’s advanced editing capabilities and core team into the company where they will now hold product and engineering leadership roles.

The news comes after a busy month for Suno. Just weeks ago, Billboard announced that Suno was releasing a number of new editing tools — including a stem extractor, song editor, extended uploads and “creative sliders” — to allow users more control over the song creation process. Now, with its acquisition of WavTool, Suno is further committing to becoming a product that is not just for novices who want songs at the click of a button but also one that can accommodate the needs of a more skilled musician as well.

That same week, Bloomberg broke the news that Suno — and its competitor Udio — were in talks with the three major music companies about creating a licensing structure for songs in their training datasets. The news set the music industry ablaze, frustrating some of their licensed AI music competitors and causing many to wonder what such a deal could even look like.

Just yesterday, Udio also announced its expansion into the world of professional music tools. It introduced Sessions, their AI-powered visual workstation which is designed to provide an intuitive interface for users looking to have more control over the AI model’s outputs.

“We’re finding that many of Suno’s early adopters are professional songwriters and producers who are seeing immense value in integrating AI into their creative process,” says Mikey Shulman, CEO and co-founder of Suno. “Our ultimate goal is to empower musicians, build tools that amplify human creativity and open up access to making great music. By bringing in WavTool’s elite DAW technology, and their team of experts, we’re in a position to better deliver on our mission.”

“Once we came to understand how Sunooperates, and how aligned the Suno team is with our vision for AI in the music creation process, we knew joining forces was the right move,” says Sam Watkinson, co-founder and former CEO of WavTool. “It’s a great privilege to be part of a team with such deep passion for music and a shared commitment to advance the future of music production – I can’t wait to show off what we’ve been building together.”

In the world of music sync, where the complexities of rights management often stifle creativity and delay transactions, the newly announced partnership between Kobalt Music and Chordal offers a glimpse into what the future could look like.

Kobalt, a leading independent music publisher, is integrating Chordal’s music rights technology as the enterprise sync platform for its catalog of over one million songs. The collaboration marks the first time Kobalt has relied on a third-party platform to power its global sync transactions, signaling an important shift in how music rights and licenses are handled in an increasingly digital world.

“This partnership with Kobalt is a defining moment — not just for Chordal, but for the future of music licensing,” said Grayson Sanders, CEO of Chordal, in a statement. “Kobalt has long been at the forefront of modernizing rights management and we’re honored to help advance their mission to benefit creators worldwide.”

For decades, music licensing — particularly for fractionally owned songs — has been mired in inefficiencies. Rights conflicts, time-consuming paperwork and tedious approval processes have made licensing music a slow and frustrating endeavor. Chordal’s new technology, particularly its licensing system InstantClear, introduced in March, aims to change all that.

A key part of this partnership is InstantClear, a pre-cleared licensing system designed to streamline the process for songs that have multiple rights holders. Traditionally, coordinating approvals for these works has been arduous, often stalling deals before they are finalized. InstantClear facilitates key aspects of licensing and payments, allowing various rights holders to quickly approve their respective shares and supporting automated, custom legal contracts.

Rob Christensen, executive vp and head of global sync at Kobalt, praised the versatility the partnership brings. “Chordal’s platform seamlessly integrates the creative and operational sides of the sync business, and their ability to consolidate rights holders on fractionally owned songs and masters greatly simplifies the process for buyers,” he said in a statement. In addition to streamlining operations, Christensen highlighted Chordal’s creative tools, which he described as “game changers” for music supervisors and creatives seeking music for projects.

This collaboration also highlights the broader shift in rights management as the music business embraces innovative technologies. Kobalt’s integration with Chordal’s API enables music supervisors, producers and brands to access Kobalt’s catalog in real time, meaning buyers can quickly license music without long waits for clearance. Importantly, Sanders and Christensen emphasize that the partnership doesn’t aim to take control away from creators but rather to empower them. Kobalt writers and artists will have “the final say over where their music is used and at what price point,” Christensen said.

Chordal’s presence has grown steadily in recent years, attracting major publishers and labels such as Reservoir Media, Believe and Primary Wave to its platform. With $4.5 million raised, the company has worked with clients since 2023 after beginning work on the platform in 2019.