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SEVENTEEN found their way back to The Kelly Clarkson Show on Wednesday (June 4) to perform “Thunder,” the lead single from their just-released fifth studio album Happy Burstday.
The off-site performance takes place in an industrial warehouse, and it starts with THE 8 answering a ringing payphone branded with the logo of The Kelly Clarkson Show. He’s then surrounded by his 12 other bandmates — S.COUPS, JEONGHAN, JOSHUA, JUN, HOSHI, WONWOO, WOOZI, MINGYU, DK, SEUNGKWAN, VERNON and DINO — as they quite literally answer the call to give a bombastic performance on Clarkson’s daytime talk show.
Each of the group’s three units — hip-hop, vocal and dance — are spotlighted throughout the performance, as the 13 members switch places throughout to put different artists center stage for the stomping choreography in the wide open space.
For her introduction, Clarkson called SEVENTEEN “a K-pop performance powerhouse” — and she’s had a front-row seat to this powerhouse before. Back in January 2021, the group hit Clarkson’s show for the U.S. debut performance of their 2020 hit single “Left & Right.”
Happy Burstday, which was released last month to celebrate SEVENTEEN’s 10th anniversary, includes solo songs from all 13 members for the first time, as well as three group tracks: “Thunder,” “HBD” and the Pharrell-produced “Bad Influence.” Timbaland also produced on the project. Billboard previously shared exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the “Thunder” music video set.
Watch SEVENTEEN’s return performance on The Kelly Clarkson Show below.
British singer Jessie J has revealed that she had been recently diagnosed with “early breast cancer.”
The musician (born Jessica Cornish) shared the health update on social media on Tuesday (June 3), telling her followers that the diagnosis came shortly before the release of recent single “No Secrets” in April. “I’m highlighting the word ‘early,’” she explained. “Cancer sucks in any form but I’m holding on to the word ‘early.’”
As she continued, she revealed that she’s been “in and out of tests” in the time since, but has decided to share her story with the world in an attempt to be more open about her journey, and also to give herself a chance to process the reality of her situation.
“I also know how much sharing in the past has helped me with other people giving me their love and support, and also their own stories,” she explained. “I’m an open book. It breaks my heart that so many people are going through so much – similar and worse.”
“I’m getting to keep my nipples, that’s good,” she continued. “It’s a weird topic and a weird situation. And I know the press are going to say crazy stuff but you know what, to get diagnosed with this as I’m putting out a song called ‘No Secrets’ right before a song called ‘Living My Best Life,’ which was all pre-planned before I found out about this, I mean, you can’t make it up.”
Indeed, Jessie J’s news comes shortly after the release of her single “Living My Best Life,” which arrived on May 16. In the caption to her Instagram post, the singer added levity to her situation, writing “No (more) Secrets and is it too soon to do a remix called ‘Living my breast life’?”
In closing her video to fans, Jessie J explained that she will “disappear for a bit” to undergo surgery following her performance at the Summertime Ball in England on June 15.
Jessie J’s decision to be open and honest with her health journey aligns with her comments from July, in which she revealed a recent diagnosis of obsessive compulsive behavior (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD).
“It’s empowered me and honestly sometimes has overwhelmed me all at the same time,” she explained, noting that the information had made her think about her life in a whole new way. “If there is one thing social media has given me, it’s the chance to relate, connect and heal with strangers that have kind hearts and are going through a similar thing.
“I have always been honest in the journey I’m going through in life.”
More than three years on from their last studio record, New York trio Big Thief have detailed their sixth album, Double Infinity.
Set for release on Sept. 5 via 4AD, Double Infinity serves as the follow-up to the band’s Grammy-nominated album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. Recorded at New York City’s Power Station over the winter with longtime collaborator Dom Monks, the nine-track release arrived as the result of three weeks of marathon nine-hour sessions spent working with a tight-knit community of musicians.
The album’s announcement is also paired by the release of lead single ‘Incomprehensible,” a track which served as a staple of the band’s 2024 summer tour, and carried over into vocalist and guitarist Adrianne Lenker’s solo shows that same year.
The new record is also the first to be released by Big Thief as a trio, having announced the departure of longtime bassist Max Oleartchik in July 2024, citing “interpersonal reasons” for his exit.
Double Infinity’s impending release is also the latest in a series of happenings for Big Thief and its associated members this year. In February, Big Thief unveiled a new L.A. wildfires benefit EP, with Passional Relations collecting some of their “favorite unreleased songs” to aid relief for those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles.
In late April, Lenker would release the Live at Revolution Hall album, while drummer James Krivchenia released the record Performing Belief in early May. Days later, the group would announce a run of North American tour dates, with the Somersault Slide 360 Tour set to launch in September.
Big Thief first formed in 2015 following two years of Lenker and guitarist Buck Meek performing as a duo. Their debut album arrived in 2016, with their third album – 2019’s U.F.O.F. – peaking at No. 142 on the Billboard 200. Their latest album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, would reach No. 31, and receive a Grammy nomination for best alternative album, and best alternative music performance for second single, “Certainty.”
