Much has been made about Kendrick Lamar’s selection as the headlining performer at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, but 50 Cent thinks it’s K. Dot’s time to shine.

50 stopped by The Talk on Friday (Sept. 13), where he defended K. Dot being the right pick to take the Super Bowl LIX stage in New Orleans next year.

“I mean, it was a choice. I think Kendrick deserves [it]. As a solo artist right now, he’s the guy,” said 50 Cent, who made a cameo at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show performance in Los Angeles alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige. “Having the game be in New Orleans, I could see why they got the Wayne [idea].”

The Queens rapper thinks Lamar should bring out the artists he has “featured on big records” in his decorated discography. (Billboard compiled a list of possible special guests filled with he likes of SZA, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Travis Scott and more.)

The Super Bowl discussion led into the Drake versus Kendrick feud, which 50 thought was “good for the culture” since it pushed two of the best to elevate their artistry and output.

“Both Drake and Kendrick produced quality music faster because they had to compete with each other,” he added. “That competitive nature made them go work and have responses. Hip-hop is still … it’s not just a genre where you can just make a song and sit back. You have to make a song and be ready to make a song again right away with other artists.”

Other artists have had plenty to say about Kendrick’s Halftime Show selection. Nicki Minaj, Master P, Cam’ron and more have spoken out about the NFL’s decision to overlook Lil Wayne as a headliner in his hometown.

Watch the interview with 50 Cent below.

Cardi B is sharing her home movies. After announcing that she and estranged husband Offset welcomed their third baby together on Sept. 7, Cardi pulled the curtain back on her bundle of joy in a one-minute TikTok video on Sunday (Sept. 15).

The clip from Cardi’s hospital room entitled “Babygirl” [followed by three pink flower emoji] opens with soft piano and a peek at the monitor announcing that the baby — whose name has not yet been revealed — weighed in at 5 lbs. 9 oz. We then see a nurse telling Cardi “you did so amazing, I’m so proud of you. She’s so perfect,” as the newborn cries her first cry and is placed on mama’s chest.

Offset is next, getting his chance to bond with his daughter during bare chest snuggle time before Cardi introduces the newest member the family to her two other children with ‘Set in a sweet FaceTime chat. “Look at the baby sister!” Cardi says as big sis Kulture, 6, says hi to her mom and asks if the baby is sleeping while little brother Wave, 3, hangs in the background.

“Yeah, she’s little,” Cardi responds. We then see a montage of images, including Cardi breastfeeding and having quiet time while nurses take the baby’s measurements and get her footprint for the birth certificate. Wave and Kulture show up toward the end of the clip, with Kulture doing a great job cradling her new sister in her lap while dad keeps Wave occupied.

The video ends with Cardi giving her daughter a sweet, loving kiss on the forehead and staring deeply into the newborn’s face.

Last week Cardi announced the birth of her third baby with Offset, sharing photos from the hospital and calling her “the prettiest lil thing.” Cardi announced she was pregnant with baby No. 3 in August on the same day Billboard confirmed she’d filed for divorce from the rapper for a second time. The birth makes Offset the father of six, adding to his older children from different relationships, Jordan, 14 and Kody and Kalea, both 9.

Chappell Roan has been open about the downfalls of fame amid her meteoric rise to household-name status this year — but luckily, she has people like Lorde in her corner. 

In her The Face cover story published Monday (Sept. 16), the 26-year-old musician opened up about a time the 27-year-old “Green Light” singer came to her rescue during a recent situation that made Roan compare stardom to a toxic relationship. “I feel like fame is just abusive,” Roan told the publication. “The vibe of this – stalking, talking s–t online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public – is the vibe of an abusive ex-husband. That’s what it feels like. I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”  

While crying in an airport bathroom after a man berated her for refusing to sign posters — just one of several instances of toxic fan behavior Roan has endured over the past few months — the Missouri native says she texted Lorde for advice. “She sent me a list of things I should do [in that situation],” Roan continued. “Literally wrote down eight things she wished someone would have told her when she was going through it. And she went through f–king hell. She was a baby!” 

Lorde is one of many female musicians who’ve rallied around Roan this year, in addition to Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Lizzo, Katy Perry and Phoebe Bridgers, who’ve individually offered her their support since the “Good Luck, Babe!” vocalist’s star exploded this spring. In another recent interview with Rolling Stone, Roan also noted that she and fellow 2024 breakout Sabrina Carpenter have been commiserating over their recent career booms. 

“No one understands that it truly falls all on you,” she told The Face of the “Espresso” singer. “No one understands except other artists … Sabrina [Carpenter] even texted me: ‘Hey, I feel crazy. I know you feel crazy.’ So it’s, like, girlies leaning on each other.”  

Through it all, the public has watched as Roan has grown more confident speaking out about what makes her uncomfortable. In August, for instance, she called out the “predatory behavior” of certain boundary-crossing fans in a series of posts on social media, and on Sept. 11, she yelled “Shut the f–k up!” at a photographer on the VMAs red carpet before going on to win best new artist during the ceremony. 

“They were immediately, immediately supportive,” Roan added of her fellow female pop stars. ​“It’s been so amazing, because I’m very scared and confused.”

See Roan’s The Face covers below.

There are so many reasons Cyndi Lauper loves Chappell Roan. But if you’re looking for a starting point, it’s “the hair alone.” That’s what Lauper told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live on Sunday (Sept. 15) when asked about the mutual admiration society the “She Bop” 1980s legend has with the rising “Good Luck, Babe” singer.

“And the fact that it’s performance art,” continued Lauper, who made a name in the early 1980s with her outrageous sartorial sense and quirky sensibility in videos from her 1983 She’s So Unusual album that helped push the boundaries of what artists could do in the then-new music video format. “And it’s visual, it’s so visual. You know I love those visual things, obviously,” added Lauper.

Asked to share some advice for Roan now that her profile has blown up and paparazzi are chasing her all over, fellow guest Paris Hilton said she doesn’t think the “Hot To Go” singer needs any advice from her, but she did say, “I think everyone should always be nice with everyone,” noting that she’s also a huge fan of Roan’s.

Roan proved that she’s more than up to the task at last week’s VMAs, when she made her awards show performance debut with a Joan of Arc-like look for a run through “Good Luck, Babe” that included swords, flaming arrows, knights and medieval mania that proved her best new artist win was well deserved.

In the midst of her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun farewell tour, Lauper was also asked by a call-in fan if she’d ever consider doing a Las Vegas residency. Without much dithering, the 71-year-old pop icon groaned, “I don’t know,” with host Andy Cohen saying, “kinda seems like a no from her response.”

“It’s just, you know what? The weather is really tough,” said native New Yorker Lauper, lamenting that the frequent triple-digit temperatures are too much for her. After playing Rock in Rio on Friday (Sept. 20), Lauper will kick off her final tour in earnest on Oct. 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Watch Lauper talk Roan on Watch What Happens Live below.

This week, Billy Strings and Margo Price link up for a stoned-cold country sound, while Koe Wetzel offers a party-worthy romantic rebuff and Mae Estes sings a gut-punch of a song about the guys who give “good ‘ol boys” a bad name. This week’s crop of new tunes also features songs from Anne Wilson, Parker McCollum and more.

Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.

Billy Strings/Margo Price, “Too Stoned to Cry”

Americana mainstay Price welcomes prolific bluegrass artist Strings on guitar and vocals on this lilting heap of honky-tonk heartbreak, produced by Beau Bedford and written by Andrew Combs (and previously released on his 2014 album Worried Man). They sing of coping with touring life’s pressures and long hours through various vices — or as they put it, “Walking the line between hellbent and high.” The two singers’ world-weary voices bring a heft of believability to this sad country track.

Anne Wilson, “Stand”

Earlier this year, Wilson made a genre-melding project with the country/contemporary Christian album Rebel, spearheaded by songs such as “Rain in the Rearview” and “Strong.” She continues in that vein with her latest, as she sings of summoning strength to “stand for love when all you see is hate.” Bright production and a balanced country-pop instinct are a shining foil for her powerful, twangy vocal and a message of holding fast to one’s convictions.

Mae Estes, “Good Ol’ Boys”

Estes lends her bluegrass-tinted lilt to this tale of small-town deception. She boldly sings of a “good ol’ boy” who seems unfailingly polite and picture perfect to the rest of the community. Thus, Estes sings, the members of that tight-knit town likely would never believe how his personality changes in private quarters. But to those his monstrous side has impacted, the concept of a “good ol’ boy” instills more wariness than trust. The writers here are Autumn McEntire, Marti Dodson and SJ McDonald.

Parker McCollum, “What Kinda Man”

Grungy guitar gives way to a ferocious mashup of harmonica, blazing rock and honky tonk twang on McCollum’s latest. “It’s harder than it looks to walk that line,” he sings, reminiscing about living life on the edge, until he meets the one who has him rethinking his ways. As always, McCollum offers up an exemplary, gritty and undoubtedly country vocal styling.

Angie K, “Stay”

El Salvador-born Angie K, known for songs including “Happily Ever After,” employs a grainy, soulful rasp that’s enticing on this romantic, bilingual track. Lush background vocals and velvety instrumentation, accented with flashes of Latin guitar, heighten the sultry flavor here. Angie K, David Borys, Tom Pino and Jason Haag are the writers behind the song. “Stay” is featured on Angie K’s self-titled EP, which will be released Oct. 25.

Koe Wetzel, “Casamigos”

Following the release of his ninth studio album 9 Lives in July, Wetzel finally releases this fan favorite. This laid-back rocker with an ample sing-along-chorus is an anthem of defiance. “Mary Jane took my license/ And Casamigos took my friend,” he sings, before making it clear that while a cascade of less-than-stellar decisions may have cost a few things dear to him, there is one romantic relationship in particular he’s just fine with losing. Wetzel brings a jam-band vibe and a display of bravura to this stinging romantic rebuff.