Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova is in seriously hot water with Russian authorities, not for the first time.
Following an investigation, Russia’s Investigative Committee this week indicted the punk artist and activist for violating the so-called “foreign agent law” and added to the federal wanted list, reps for Pussy Riot explain.
Tolokonnikova had been accused of flouting Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the national criminal code, which carries punishment of up to 2 years’ prison for “foreign agents” on a range of offenses, including those who failed to register or didn’t label social media posts.
The Krasnoyarsk Krai Court twice found her guilty in 2024 of administrative offenses for violating foreign agent regulations, and later, while outside Russia, she is said to have distributed materials in a messaging platform without labeling them as being produced by a foreign agent.
Russia’s Ministry of Justice designated Tolokonnikova a “foreign agent” on Dec. 30, 2021.
Attention turns to Tolokonnikova after Pussy Riot, the masked Russian punk feminist collective, staged a protest at the Manhattan offices of tech company Ubiquiti on Friday, March 27 over their claims that the company’s Wi-Fi equipment is being used by Russian soldiers in their ongoing war against Ukraine.
Tolokonnikova later posted a video statement in which she said that the Russian military is allegedly using Ubiquiti to communicate with front line troops. In the clip, she talks in voice-over about the company she claims “powers Russian war crimes” over footage of three PR members in all black wearing pink balaclavas with x’d out eyes holding a sign that features that same provocative phrase.
When “Starlink was turned off, Russian guys went crazy,” she said in reference to ex-DOGE boss Elon Musk’s move in February to cut Russian forces’ access to his Starlink satellite service in order to give Ukrainian fighters an edge in the grinding four-year war. She quipped that the Russian fighters scrambled for an alternative, suggesting they were considering using doves to carry their messages.
As previously reported, members of Pussy Riot gathered outside Ubiquiti’s Manhattan offices to protest and deliver their list of demands. Hours after their action, they wrote that the company appeared to respond in the form of a message from payment processing partner Square, which informed PR that its Square account had been deactivated.
Pussy Riot have long been vocal critics of Russia’s leadership. Their 2012 “A Punk Prayer” protest made global headlines and resulted in members Tolokonnikova — who was added to Russia’s most wanted list in 2023 — and Maria Alyokhina being briefly imprisoned.
They’ve since staged a number of other protests, including at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, as well as a field invasion during the 2018 World Cup Finals and a “celebration” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 68th birthday in October 2020 in which they hoisted rainbow LGBTQ pride flags outside government buildings in Moscow in protest of the Russian government’s continued denial of LGBTQ rights. In 2023, the collective received the Woody Guthrie prize for their fight for freedom and justice.
More recently, Nadya has spoken up about Russia’s return to the Venice Biennale, one of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious cultural institutions on earth, and has created an online petition with thousands of other artists. In an open letter to Biennale President Pietroangelo Buttafuoco, she writes: “Accommodating official state representation while curating ‘dissent’ risks turning the latter into a performative gesture and virtue-signaling rather than a position…You claim to care about censorship, Pussy Riot is so censored in Russia that we were deemed ‘an extremist organization’ – simply visiting our website or liking images of our art is criminalized.”
Several countries, including the United States, have criticized the inclusion of Russia in the prestigious exhibition, while the European Commission has warned organizers it will suspend €2 million in support if the festival goes ahead with Russia among its exhibitors. Russia withdrew from Venice Biennale ahead of its 59th edition in 2022, just ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.
Tolokonnikova’s latest indictment “will not stop her from protesting Russia’s return to Venice Biennale,” explains a rep in a message to Billboard.
There is a specific sense of accomplishment and freedom that comes from an artist owning their work. For SB19, that liberation came through their self-established, self-managed company. When Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken and Justin established 1Z Entertainment in the years following their international breakout, it was clear the group wanted to ensure they were in control of their destiny and telling their own story.
Wakas At Simula — which translates to “End and Beginning” in Filipino — is the fullest expression of what that independence actually sounds like. Across 24 tracks, the quintet weave together their trilogy of six-song EPs — 2021’s Pagsibol, 2023’s PAGTATAG! and Simula at Wakas from last year — alongside six newly recorded tracks, creating a comprehensive documentation for one of the most remarkable stories in modern Asian pop.
In particular, the Pagsibol material returns in re-recorded forms, with those six songs labeled as new “Wakas At Simula” versions — an official statement noting that the songs’ changes reflect “personal experiences.” But perhaps most importantly, these defining songs are now official releases under SB19’s own label.
While SB19 made major strides throughout these three EPs, the six new tracks including the politically charged single “VISA,” plus cross-cultural collaborations with the likes of Japan Hot 100 chart-toppers BE:FIRST and one of Asia’s top pop divas JOLIN, mark some of the group’s best work yet and indicate a boldness for where they can go in the future.
With SB19’s upcoming festival debut at Lollapalooza (the first P-pop group to earn a spot at the massive Chicago fest) and a slot at Japan’s Summer Sonic (joining a lineup including the Strokes, FKA Twigs and BLACKPINK’s JENNIE), the five stars are actively pushing the Philippines’ pop music to the global stage with this LP acting as an important history marker. Yes, it’s the end of a long-running musical series, but it’s also the beginning of inevitably bigger things.
To celebrate the momentous chapter, here’s Billboard‘s ranking of all 24 tracks from Wakas At Simula.
The legendary Irish rock band’s latest release is Easter Lily EP (via Island Records), a six-pack of new recordings that drops today (April 3), Good Friday. Easter Lily closely follows the release last month of the Days of Ash EP, timed to arrive on Ash Wednesday.
Where Days of Ash was U2’s “response to chaotic times in the outside world,” Easter Lily is a “much more reflective set of songs emerging from a more personal, private place that some may retreat to in such times,” reads a statement from the record company.
Its works explore themes of friendship, loss, hope, and ultimately, renewal, and includes a contribution from Brian Eno, a soundscape on the closing track “COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?),” which U2 depicts as a lullaby for parents of children caught up in war.
The new collection is a “separate, self-contained collection,” the Universal Music Group label’s message continues, and is something to tide over U2 fans as Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton knuckle-down on recording sessions for a new studio album. That project is said to be “ongoing.”
Bono has shared an update on the LP, the followup to 2023’s Songs of Surrender, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.
“We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colourful’ album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives. We still look to vivid rock n roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens. These are for sure ‘wilderness years’ for so many of us looking at the mayhem out there in the world,” the singer explains.
“It’s a time that has our band digging deeper into our lives to find a wellspring of songs to try meet the moment… With Easter Lily we ended up asking very personal questions like: Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the mangling of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? Is all religion rubbish and still ripping us apart…? Or are there answers to find in its crevices? Are there ceremonies, rituals, dances that we might be missing in our lives? From the rite of Spring to Easter and its promise of rebirth and renewal… Patti Smith’s album Easter gave me so much hope when it was released in 1978. I wasn’t yet 18. The title is a nod to her.”
The fourpiece “will attempt hoopla and fanfare at a later date to remind the rest of the world we exist but in the meantime,” Bono continues, “this is between you and us.”
Accompanying the new EP is a special digital e-zine edition of “Propaganda,” the first of which was published more than 40 years ago, in February 1986. Each of the bandmates contribute to “U2 – Propaganda – Easter Lily,” which includes a conversation between Bono and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr; and in-the-studio photographs shot by Mullen; song lyrics; a piece on their producer, Jacknife Lee; and more.
Formed in Dublin with their political hearts exposed on their collective sleeves, U2 would become arguably the world’s biggest band in the second half of the 1980s, a crown they managed to wear well into the ‘90s despite the explosion of grunge, indie, alternative rock, hip-hop and electronic dance music.
The band has landed 34 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including two leaders, along with eight No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart. Induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame came in 2005. U2 had the honors of being the first band to play the Sphere in Las Vegas, which they inaugurated in September 2023 with the residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.
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.pngYveto2026-04-03 04:05:412026-04-03 04:05:41U2 Unwraps ‘Easter Lily’ EP: Stream It Now
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Enjoy an evening of songs and stories with John Legend on his 2026 tour.
The Grammy-winning singer and pianist is ditching larger arenas to deliver fans a more stripped-down live show focusing on intimate connection and personal storytelling about his career. The piano-driven concert is heading to the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA next on April 4 before hitting ten other US cities, including Virginia Beach, VA; Buffalo, NY; Providence, RI and Hershey, PA.
John Legend’s “An Evening of Songs & Stories” intimate 2026 theater tour will the feature the EGOT winner performing piano-driven versions of his hits like “All of Me,” which spent 59 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at No. 1 for three week straight. In addition of playing his catalog of records, he’ll be sharing personal stories from his impressive 20+ year-long career. The reason for opting for smaller venues is to have ways to create a more direct and vulnerable connection with fans.
With Legend’s tour already underway, tickets are selling fast. To help you find last-minute tickets, we’ve compiled all the best ways to shop tickets online. Ticketmaster does have some general tickets available, but shifting your focus to several resell sites is a great way shop cheap, last-minute concert tickets as well. Learn more below.
Where to Shop John Legend 2026 Tour Tickets Online
If you’d like to see John Legend’s “An Evening of Songs & Stories” tour live, resell sites like StubHub, SeatGeek and Gametime, will have plenty of ticketing options available. Below, ShopBillboard put together a list of affordable ticket options, including exclusive promo and discount codes. Learn about how you can shop and save on concert tickets online and securely.
With StubHub, fans can affordable John Legend tickets for as low as $84 in select cities. Shoppers can use the site’s filters to find the best venue seating and pricing to match your budget. On StubHub. choose from the number of tickets needed, price and even have estimated fees included in the cost, so there are no hidden surprises. Plus, each purchase is protected by StubHub’s FanProtect, which you can learn more about here.
Another great option for shopping John Legend concert tickets is on Vivid Seats. The resell site has last-minute tickets for as low as $74. The site will also help you determine the best offers available by labeling what dates have deals and displaying the cheapest prices available. If you want to save even more, use the code BB2024 at checkout, to save $20 off orders of $200+.
Your purchase will also be covered by the Vivid Seats Buyer Guarantee, which can you read more about here.
Fans can find cheap John Legend tickets on Seat Geek for as low as $76. The resale ticketing site uses a ranking system with a scale of 1-10 to show which options are the best deal. Tickets marked a one are considered the worst deal whereas options rated a 10 are considered the best deals. Bonus offer: First purchases are eligible to receive $10 off orders of $250+ when you use the code BILLBOARD10 at checkout.
Gametime is offering John Legend tickets online for as cheap as $74 right now. To save on concert tickets, shoppers can score an extra $20 off purchases of $150+ when you enter the code SAVE20 at checkout. If you find other sites offering a cheaper price, Gametime’s Price Guarantee Program will give you 110% of the difference back when you show proof to the resale site.
Finally, Ticketnetwork is offering John Legend tickets for $69 right now. Want to buy multiple? To save on concert tickets, shoppers can take advantage of our promo codes that will take $150 off purchases of $500+ when you use the code BILLBOARD150 at checkout or $300 off orders of $1,000+ when you use the promo code BILLBOARD300.
John Legend 2026 Tour Dates
Here’s the full slate of upcoming US dates for John Legend’s “An Evening of Songs & Stories” tour.
Apr 4: Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, CA Apr 8: Altria Theater, Richmond, VA Apr 9: Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach, VA Apr 11: Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, OH Apr 12: The Kentucky Center – Whitney Hall, Louisville, KY Apr 21: NJPAC, Newark, NJ Apr 22: Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, Buffalo, NY Apr 24: Toyota Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT Apr 26: Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Providence, RI Apr 28: Landmark Theatre, Syracuse, NY Apr 29: Hershey Theatre, Hershey, PA May 3: Wilkes Barre, PA, F.M. Kirby Center May 5: Schenectady, NY, Proctor’s Theatre May 16: Greensboro, NC, Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts May 17: Charlotte, NC, Ovens Auditorium June 13: Pine Bluff, AR, Saracen Casino Resort
It’s been a little over seven months since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement with an Instagram post that broke the Internet.
In the time since, the superstar couple have have kept quite busy. Swift released her 15th Billboard 200 No. 1 album The Life of a Showgirl back in October — moving a record-breaking 4 million equivalent album units — while Kelce signed on for his 14th season with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this month.
Though the pair have both shared that they’re excited to plan the wedding, they are preoccupied with their work.
“I’m just doing the album thing now,” Swift said in an October appearance on The Graham Norton Show after Norton asked if she’s already planning for the big day. “And then I think the wedding is after that.”
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However, with Swift and Kelce finally making their awards show debut as a couple at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 26, we are once again wondering about their wedding plans.
Members of the Tayvis camp have kept what they may or may not know about the couple’s plans for the big day mostly quiet. Kelce’s mother Donna Kelce straight up refused to speak about her potential involvement with the wedding planning when ambushed by a photographer at LAX. “I’m just happy. I’m so happy for them,” Donna said.
Meanwhile, Swift’s future sister-in-law Kylie Kelce (who’s married to Trav’s big brother Jason) made a plea on her Not Gonna Lie podcast on April 2 that people need to stop asking her for wedding dirt. “Quit asking me and my mother-in-law [Donna] about upcoming nuptials,” she said point-blank to the camera. “Nobody’s f—ing telling you anything.” She added: “I don’t have any details. I have no details. I have none. Look at that. That’s how many details I have. None. None.”
While Donna and Kyle are staying hush-hush, a few people close to the duo — including Taylor and Travis themselves — have shared little bits and pieces here and there about the nuptials.
Here is everything we know (so far) about the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding.
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.pngYveto2026-04-02 23:10:392026-04-02 23:10:39Here’s Everything We Know About Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce’s Wedding So Far
Did you know that Easter and Passover are the “two most metal holidays of all time”?
That’s according to Jack Black in just-released promos for his hosting stint on Saturday Night Live this weekend alongside similarly named rock star Jack White as musical guest.
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“It’s the Easter show, baby!” White says, while Black adds, “And the Passover show, homey — the two most metal holidays of all time!”
The pair of Jacks then trade off the most metal biblical references, with Black throwing up the sign of the horns while shouting, “Lamb’s blood!”
“Rising from the dead!” White adds.
“Exodus!” Black says.
This is where SNL castmember Marcello Hernandez tries to chime in, adding theatrically, “The Easter Bunny!” But Black and White aren’t having it. “No,” Black says, with White adding disappointedly, “You ruined it.”
Elsewhere in the promos, Hernandez calls Jack White “the opposite of Jack Black” and Black makes sure to give White a “legendary” introduction. Watch below:
Saturday’s episode will mark Black’s fifth time hosting, while White will be the musical guest for a sixth time, including his SNL debut with The White Stripes back in 2002. Black is promoting his return as the voice of Bowser in the animated sequel The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which arrived in theaters on Wednesday. Black made his solo Billboard Hot 100 debut back in 2023 thanks to his song “Peaches” from the first Super Mario Bros. Movie, peaking at No. 56 on the chart.
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.pngYveto2026-04-02 23:05:302026-04-02 23:05:30Jack Black & Jack White Are Ready to Celebrate the ‘Two Most Metal Holidays of All Time’ With ‘SNL’ Easter/Passover Episode
A man was arrested early Wednesday for trespassing after being found on Nicki Minaj’s Hidden Hills mansion property in Los Angeles.
According toEntertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department confirmed that a male was apprehended early Wednesday in Northwest Los Angeles after neighbors spotted a person walking through Minaj’s backyard.
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TMZalso reported that Minaj was not home at the time of the individual trespassing onto the Queens rapper’s property.
Minaj’s Hidden Hills home was at the center of an assault lawsuit. A judge ruled in 2024 that Minaj had to pay a $500,000 judgment to German security guard Thomas Weidenmüller for her husband, Kenneth “Zoo” Petty, who allegedly assaulted Weidenmüller during a stop on the Nicki WRLD Tour in 2019.
With Minaj initially refusing to pay up, the judge ordered that the 11,000-square-foot home in Hidden Hills, California, valued at $20 million, be sold to satisfy the lawsuit ruling. Minaj and Petty avoided the mansion’s sale by making an eleventh-hour payment to Weidenmüller in January.
The “Super Bass” rapper was slapped with another lawsuit in March, when production company 24/7 Productions (USA) Inc. claimed that Minaj stiffed them out of $275,000 for services when she performed at iHeartRadio’s 2023 Jingle Ball concerts as well as the launch of Pink Friday 2 in December 2023.
“Despite many attempts over the course of nearly two years to ‘chase up’ payment of the 24/7 Invoices, defendants have inexplicably failed to pay any portion,” the production company’s lawyers told Billboard.
Even after missing the original six-figure payments, the company still worked on Minaj’s record-breaking Pink Friday 2 World Tour in 2024.
Billboard has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department and Minaj’s reps for comment.
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.pngYveto2026-04-02 22:47:382026-04-02 22:47:38Trespasser at Nicki Minaj’s Los Angeles Home Arrested: Report
How does a producer follow up crafting a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit for a decade-defining global superstar? For Tyler Spry — who was part of the elite creative team that brought Bad Bunny’s Grammy-winning album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS to life, including a writing/producing credit on record-breaking title track “DtMF” — the answer is to do it again, this time for another of the biggest acts in the world: BTS.
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After four years of solo exploration by Jin, SUGA, j-hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook while the members completed their individual military conscription, the South Korean boy band’s shapeshifting first project since 2022, ARIRANG, regroups by rooting itself in cultural heritage — while also tapping talent (Diplo, Ryan Tedder, Kevin Parker, El Guicho, JPEGMAFIA and more) from all over the map. “I’m so fortunate to have been able to work on these two albums that feel bigger than just bodies of music,” Spry tells Billboard from his studio in Silver Lake.
The producer started work on the more recent project not too long after Bad Bunny’s album was released, pitching ideas to BTS’ team at the beginning of 2025. Spry struck gold with the R&B track “Please,” which would ultimately make it onto ARIRANG‘s lighter-weight second half; it earned him a spot at an L.A. writing camp held last summer, along with collaborators from Tedder’s publishing company Runner Music. During those studio sessions — captured in small part by Netflix documentary BTS: The Return — trance-like lead single “Swim” came into being.
“Some of the best songs just fall out of thin air,” Spry says. “It’s like they’ve always existed somewhere, and you just need to be in the right headspace to reach out and grab them.” For “Swim,” that spark “just happened so effortlessly,” he adds. “A lot of times, you have to fight for a song. There’s something there that’s really good, but you just can’t crack it.” Here, the composition was fleshed out in fewer than 30 minutes.
After Spry and Diplo signee Leclair got down that rough beat, Tedder quickly freestyled the second verse and then handed off the track for a longer tinkering process. “That was when RM came in, and I think they started to get more serious about the record,” Spry says. “He was trying to figure out how to make it fit the vision they had for the lead single.”
It wasn’t until the septet returned to Seoul to finish recording that the pressure of the group’s self-imposed March deadline really started to ramp up. Because they were working halfway around the world, Spry would get vocals from longtime BTS collaborator Pdogg back in the middle of the night; he recalls stepping out of a friend’s birthday party to listen to a mix of “Please” with the HYBE crew. “It was chaotic,” he laughs. “But I love the chaos. I thrive in the chaos. It’s my job as a producer.”
Below, Spry talks to Billboard about the stress and “magic” of creating ARIRANGtracks — plus a few “really good” songs that just might surface on future BTS projects — during the L.A. studio sessions and beyond.
ARIRANG is now a Billboard 200No. 1 album, with “Swim” topping the Billboard Hot 100, Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts. How are you feeling about the reception?
Honestly, I’m amazed by the response. I am aware that BTS is one of the biggest artists in the world, but when we set out to make this project, it was very ambitious, and it’s definitely a sound that I don’t think the fans or the general public were expecting.
It was so cool to see them perform [“Swim”] live. I hadn’t seen it yet. Everything related to BTS is very secretive and on lockdown, so I didn’t see any music videos or performance videos before they happened. It was really exciting to see these legends out there dancing and singing a record that we made in a little studio in L.A.
How did you get involved with the album?
At the beginning of last year, I was sitting down with my publisher, Ryan Tedder, and we were talking about who we wanted to collaborate with. He mentioned that BTS was going to be making a comeback. Honestly, it felt like a lofty, almost unattainable goal to have a record with BTS. But I love a challenge, so we decided to swing for the fences.
We spent a few weeks at Ryan’s studio in West Hollywood, starting ideas, sending them to the team, trying to find something that would stick. Some of it was probably too pop, too close to their earlier English-language records like “Dynamite” and “Butter.” But we caught our stride and started finding a sound that felt fresh and exciting.
And this was before the L.A. studio sessions?
Yeah. I wouldn’t say I came onto the project in any official capacity before that. My team and I were just sketching, painting, trying to find sounds that would be exciting for the label and for the band. Before the L.A. writing sessions, we found something like that. That ended up being a song called “Please,” which, after some changes, landed on the album. It was our ticket into the writing camp that they were hosting at Conway Studios.
The crew [from Runner Music] was mostly me, James Essien, Sean Foreman, Ryan Tedder and Sam Homaee. And then there was a whole gang of incredible songwriters and producers, a revolving door of people at Conway. That was June or July of last year. But initially, we weren’t in the room with the band. They invited us out, and there were a lot of people making ideas to present to them.
Tell me more about the process of making “Please.”
We weren’t necessarily writing full, finished, polished ideas from scratch every day. Rather, we were trying to capture some kind of magic, like lightning in a bottle. “Please” ended up being one of those. I was just chopping up these keyboards and guitars that sounded like old soul sounds and putting together some off-the-grid hip-hop drums. It’s the only song on the album with a single producer credit, so it means a lot that the guys and [HYBE chairman] Bang [Si-Hyuk] trusted me to carry that one across the line.
The day we wrote the song, I came home and my friend Dawson from the band Almost Mondayand my wife and I all sang gang vocals around the dining room table in my kitchen. The band decided to keep them in because there was just this raw texture that they connected with. You can hear it really quiet in the background on the chorus.
What was your first impression of BTS as collaborators?
We weren’t working with them all at one time. It would be chaos to have that many voices in the room. But I got to work with them one-on-one.
Jung Kook is an amazing songwriter, and he is an incredible singer. He can sing with no Auto-Tune and hit all the notes. V is so warm and sweet and has an incredible tone. He’s really funny too, even though there’s a bit of a language barrier. We were cracking jokes and having fun in the studio.
RM feels almost like the older brother of the group. He knows what he wants. He helps bring the guys in and get them excited about things. It was a good energy. Honestly, they’re some of the nicest guys I’ve met, let alone just artists. It was really a privilege working with them.
There are some songs that we made with them that they were really creatively involved in that have not seen the light of day. So I hope — it’s not up to me — but I do hope that those get to come out into the world.
They did mention that they’ve already claimed some of the unused songs from the studio sessions for upcoming solo projects.
Yeah. [Laughs] I would definitely like to know who’s claiming which songs. There are some really good ones.
How did BTS mediate disagreements while working on the album?
They’ve done a really great job making sure that every voice is heard, every opinion is respected. The final album, once they whittled it down, is such a distilled version of what every member really wanted.
When working with the guys, the best music that we made was when we created a space where we were free to try anything. Like, SUGA could jump onto the mic and feel comfortable freestyling a rap in front of songwriters and producers that he’d only known for a few days. Or, Jung Kook could tell us that a lyric concept that we have sucks, and he doesn’t like it. [Laughs] But in a nice way, in a kind way. Or RM saying, “Oh, that verse is cool, but we wouldn’t say that,” or, “That’s not our flow.”
It seems like some of the lyrics on “Please” were a result of that calibration.
Are the original lyrics out there?
No, but there’s speculation that the line “Hold me from the front, back, left, right” might have been something else originally. Something less PG.
Perhaps it could have been something else originally. [Laughs] No comment.
I mean, some of the best songwriters and producers are also artists, but you’re wearing a different hat when you’re writing music for other people. Our job was to build a room that they could exist in.
But they’re the stars; once they step into the room, that’s what brings it to life. On a song like “Please,” you set the mood with the chords and the drums and the melodies, and then they come in and figure out what they want to say and how they want to perform it.
Tell me about how “Swim” was chosen as the lead single.
“Swim” is a subtle song. They’re not singing at the top of their range. The melody isn’t particularly athletic, but it’s an earworm. It sneaks up on you. I think that’s what ended up happening with them.
That day, we were paired with Leclair, who’s signed to Diplo. When we were working, we’d write two or three songs because we weren’t trying to deliver a finished, polished thought. There weren’t any references. Leclair and I just put together the rough beat while James and Sean were freestyling on the couch. The chorus just fell out of thin air.
I think everyone was afraid of it, because it’s such a subtle song. It didn’t feel like, “Here’s ‘Dynamite.’ Here’s the smash.” But I remember two weeks after we wrote it, I was going to the lounge to make myself a coffee. I walked past V, and he was humming to himself, “Swim, swim.” I don’t even think he knew that I could hear him. That was when I knew, “OK, I think we’re on to something. I think this is probably going to be the song.”
It’s interesting that you contrast the two songs, because when they were discussing “Swim,” BTS said it reminded them of “Dynamite,” mostly in that it was such an unexpected choice.
BTS has such an incredible team around them with Pdogg and Bang, and they’re obviously incredible writers on their own. They come to people like us to help contextualize them to the world in a new way.
That’s why I use a reference like “Dynamite,” because, at that point in time, that was what introduced them to a whole new demographic of people and built new fans. We had the task of trying to do that now, while honoring their core fan base and where they come from.
They are fundamentally different people than they were before they took a break. They grew a lot. Their tastes changed, their voices changed. It was daunting to steward that process, but I’m really proud of what we ended up doing. I mean, look at the response. There’s a whole bunch of people listening to BTS that weren’t listening to BTS a few months ago.
“Swim” is also one of three English-language songs on the album. Were there larger conversations about that?
More than ever, the language that a song is in does not necessarily affect how large the audience for that song is. I had the fortune of having a No. 1 six weeks ago with Bad Bunny’s “DTMF” being the first Spanish-language single to top [the Billboard Hot 100, Global 200 and Global Exclu. US charts simultaneously]. Now — granted, it is in English — “Swim” is the No. 1 song on the Hot 100. A Korean act on an American chart.
I’m really proud to be a part of this album because, like DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, it feels like such a deep representation of who they [BTS] are as artists and the country that they come from. I think it’s pretty bada– that they decided to do a lot of the album in Korean — not just make a project that was focusing on being a large commercial venture, but rather a snapshot of who they are creatively at this point in their lives.
It seemed like ARIRANG was produced on a tight timeline. Did you feel that pressure in the studio?
At the writing camp, while the stakes were really high, none of us were made to feel pressured or competitive. Obviously, we all wanted to write the BTS comeback single, but on any given day, we’d show up and, like, my friends are in Studio B, my friends are in Studio A. We all get to have lunch together, high-five each other and listen to the songs that we made.
Once they had “Swim,” “Normal” and “Please” — once they had the bulk of the earlier songs on the project — and they started to really assemble the album, that was when pressure started to set in. Getting the vocal performances right, getting the mixes right — that’s where we were really under the gun, especially to make the vinyl and CD deadlines.
Was there a particularly memorable moment working with the members on this album?
There’s a video that’s gone around on the Internet when I was writing with V, James Essien and Sean Foreman. That video is not the making of any of the songs that made the album, but it was one of the most fun days I had in the studio with the guys. We were just jumping up and down, singing the songs. I think that it was one of the freest days we had in the studio, creatively. So I do hope that song gets to see the light of day.
I’m glad there were those fun times, because the Netflix documentary shows a lot of creative anguish.
We had so much fun with the members in the studio. Like I said earlier, there were definitely times where SUGA would jump off the couch like a bolt of lightning, run into the booth and freestyle a verse out of nowhere. Or Jung Kook would say, “I think I have an idea. Can I get on the mic?” And then he’d get on the SM7 and go stupid, just completely crush the most angelic melody. We were really trying to create a space where they felt safe to try anything. And I think we accomplished that.
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.pngYveto2026-04-02 22:42:582026-04-02 22:42:58Inside BTS’ ‘ARIRANG’ Studio Sessions With Producer Tyler Spry: ‘We Were Trying to Capture Some Kind of Magic’
George Clinton, Heart, Lucinda Williams and Take 6 have been added to the list of performers for the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum’s 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala taking place May 8. Clinton, Heart and Williams recorded titles that are among the honorees.
They join previously announced performer Norah Jones, who will also be presented with the Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award. Warner Records will also be honored as the Anthony Mason-hosted event, which will take place at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
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Fourteen titles spanning nearly a century of recorded music will be honored at the gala, extending as far back as 1926’s “Trouble in Mind” recorded by Bertha “Chippie” Hill to 1998’s Car Wheels on A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams. Among the other three singles and 11 albums being inducted are Pink Moon by Nick Drake, Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, Dreamboat Annie by Heart and All Eyez on Me by 2Pac.
The Recording Academy’s national trustees established the Grammy Hall of Fame to honor recordings released before the Grammy Awards began being handed out in 1959. The honor is now open to any recording that is at least 25 years old. A special member committee selects the recordings to be inducted based on their qualitative or historical significance. Final ratification comes from the Recording Academy’s national board of trustees.
“It’s a privilege to recognize these influential recordings as the 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees,” Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Each selection reflects the creativity, craft and cultural impact that recorded music can carry across decades. We’re honored to help preserve these works and celebrate the artists and communities behind them, so their legacies continue to inspire generations to come.”
The show will be produced by former Grammy Awards executive producer Ken Ehrlich, alongside Ron Basile, Chantel Sausedo, Lindsay Saunders Carl, and Lynne Sheridan.
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.pngYveto2026-04-02 22:12:272026-04-02 22:12:27Heart, Lucinda Williams & George Clinton Added as Performers at 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala
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Levi’s has teamed up with legendary hip-hop trio Beastie Boys for a ’90s-inspired T-shirt collection. Paying homage to the rap groups rise to fame, this limited release honors their formative years in New York and draws upon the Beastie Boys impact on street culture as well as their earlier music, such as the classic album, Hello Nasty, from 1998.
The Levi’s x Beastie Boys collection includes four different graphic shirts “inspired by vintage collector’s tees, says Levi’s in a press release.” Available Thursday (April 2), fans can shop between a “Color Up” white tee, which features a range of artwork from Hello Nasty on the back; a red graphic tee emblazoned with an iconic group logo utilized in their early days; a “Hello Nasty Caviar” tee, that includes the album artwork from the acclaimed 1998 album; and finally, a long-sleeve “Caviar” tee showcasing artwork from their 1995 EP Root Down.
“Few groups have had the cultural impact of the Beastie Boys,” says Leo Gamboa, VP – Collaborations at Levi’s. “With this collection, we wanted to celebrate their legacy – the humor, the attitude, and the spirit of the ‘90s – in a way that feels true to them.”
The Levi’s x Beastie Boys collection is available top shop online right now on Levi’s.com. The price range for the limited-release goes from $45 – $50. The quantity of each tee is unavailable, but act fast so you don’t miss out on these throwback-inspired merch.
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.pngYveto2026-04-02 22:12:272026-04-02 22:12:27Relive ’90s Hip-Hop Style With Throwback Levi’s x Beastie Boys Collection: Shop It Here