Get you a friend who respects and defends your pronouns. That’s the kind of friend Demi Lovato has in Lizzo.

While out to dinner at Catch LA, Lizzo popped out wearing a shirt with Demi’s face on it, took a few selfies with fans waiting outside and let the paparazzi know not to misgender her friend and fellow pop star ever again. In May, Lovato announced that they identify as non-binary and changed their pronouns to they/them.

“Is that a message to Demi? Should she reach out?” one of the photographers is heard asking in a clip that made the rounds online Thursday (July 1). Lizzo holds out her finger and says, “They.” Again, the paparazzo failed to heed her correction and went about asking, “Have her team contact your team?”

“Their team,” Lizzo responded, setting the record straight once more and adding, “Demi goes by they now.” While the photographer thanked her for catching the mistake, Lovato felt extra grateful for Lizzo coming to their defense.

”@lizzobeeating you f—ing queen I love you,” Lovato wrote on her Instagram Story while sharing a social post that had the video capturing Lizzo and the pap’s interaction. “Thank you.” Lizzo reshared their post with a heart emoji on her own Story.

In December, the Dancing With the Devil singer sang Lizzo’s praises after she bared it all for a self-love PSA video. “Thank you for the inspiration we all needed today you legend,” Lovato wrote under the video.

Lunay is preparing for a big performance Thursday night at the 2021 Premios Heat, where he is nominated for best northern region (Central America, Mexico, and Caribbean) artist of the year alongside his colleagues Farruko, El Alfa, Danna Paola, Rauw Alejandro, Sech, Milly and Justin Quiles.

He tells Billboard that he will perform his new single “Vudú” for the first time alongside Chencho Corleone and a live band.

In the hype of the awards show based in the Dominican Republic, the Puerto Rican artist also spilled the deets on his collaboration with Anitta, “Todo o Nada,” part of his sophomore album El Niño.

“We both saw each other on social media, we reached out to each other and we became good friends,” he says. “We wanted to collaborate. She went to the studio and loved the song.”

The music video is on the way, he reveals. “We filmed it very fast in Miami,” he says. “I’m very happy with the song, the TikTok dances, we want to show people that this isn’t only a song, but it has a dynamic and it’s enjoyable. It’ll be out soon.”

In addition, Lunay, who says an El Niño tour is “100 percent happening,” plans to celebrate his 21st birthday in October either in Ibiza or Miami with the people who have always supported him. “We’re preparing something big!”

Watch the full interview below:

Bon Jovi’s music video for “It’s My Life” has crossed over the billion-views mark on YouTube, more than two decades after its 2000 premiere.

It’s the first entry in the video streaming platform’s Billion Views Club from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

“It’s My Life” was released as the lead single off the rock band’s seventh studio album, Crush, in 2000. The song broke into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 33.

Wayne Isham directed the accompanying visual, which follows a teenager named Tommy (Will Estes) whose mother orders him to take out the trash while his friend Gina (Unreal and Roswell star Shiri Appleby) pleads with him to meet her at the 2nd Street Tunnel in Los Angeles to catch the Bon Jovi concert instead — and he goes to extreme lengths around the city to accomplish both.

While the music video debuted in 2000, YouTube launched in 2005 and the “It’s My Life” video was uploaded to YouTube 12 years ago, on June 16, 2009.

Watch “It’s My Life” all over again below.

As of today (June 30), the Small Business Administration has delivered $1 billion in Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funds to the accounts of independent promoters, venues, movie theaters and more, according to the organization. The SBA informed those on the daily SVOG stakeholders call this morning that another $1 billion in funds has been awarded to businesses, but has not yet been deposited in their accounts.

The SBA has seen a faster rollout of award notifications in the past two weeks after failing to deliver all Priority 1 businesses — those who lost 90% or more of their revenue in 2020 — in the first 14 days of funding.  

According to this morning’s stakeholders call, 2,919 award approval letters have gone out in total. Another 2,929 award notifications have been queued up to go out. An additional 265 applicants have received decline notices, with another 1,400 set to be declined.  

The SBA’s grant website states that roughly 27% of the more than 14,600 applications are currently under review, with another 21% awaiting consideration. About 1,600 applicants will be receiving a notice to fix technical corrections from the SBA as well. According to an SVOG stakeholder, these are entities that meet the criteria for approval, but something in their application needs to be fixed. The SBA is working on a process to send emails to those that need technical corrections and show them on the portal how to address them.

Also in the works is an appeals process for those who have been denied but believe they are still eligible for the grant. While details of the process are still being worked out, it is estimated that businesses will have around two weeks to work on their appeals.  

“We don’t know when [the appeals process] is going to happen, but it’s good news and it’s something that we’ve been asking for for months,” one stakeholder tells Billboard.  

Following an estimated two-week appeals process, venues will be able to begin applying for supplemental grants based on the money left over. According to SBA figures, $11.6 billion in funding has been requested from the more than $16 billion fund. With several declines and varying award amounts, that could leave around $4 billion in supplemental funds for which music venues, promoters, talent agencies and more can apply.