K-pop boy band BOYNEXTDOOR dipped into the members’ personal stories for the tracks on new EP 19.99. Singer Taesan tells Billboard that the seven-track mini-album “explores the emotions experienced just before turning 20. Specifically, the tracks express the intricate emotions that precede and follow turning 20.”

Group leader Jaehyun adds that the album is especially close to the singers’ hearts because it involves a lot of “true stories” from their personal lives. “We felt a lot of some kind of pain, some kind of happy and some kind of thankful. We always feel pain of growth, growing, so that is our album’s story,” he says.

The EP that dropped on Monday (Sept. 9), was preceded by the uptempo single “Dangerous,” which the group says represents their “mischievous side,” in which they fantasize about such rule-breaking activities as not listening to their moms, hanging out with friends all night and other shenanigans they pulled off before turning 20. And while their aim was to express a wide variety of feelings in a uniquely BOYNEXTDOOR fashion, boys also, of course, just wanna have fun.

Then again, lead single “Nice Guy” presents the flip side of that dangerous attitude, with lyrics Jaehyun says are funny and witty, which, of course, would not be as funny if they were all in their 30s. (All of BOYNEXTDOOR’s members — which also include Sungho, Riwoo, Leehan and Woonhak — are between 17 and 20 years old.) “But we are 20, or 19, 17, so I think that point is a really good point and ‘Nice Guy’ is [like a] flirt to someone,” he says.

Because the members of HYBE’s latest boy band write and co-produce a lot of their songs, Taesan — who co-wrote and co-produced “Dangerous” — says he also incorporated a lot of his own stories and an anecdote involving one of his siblings on the EP that focuses on “real-life experiences” rather than more generalized pop culture references from TV and movies. “We tried our best to use lyrics and melodies that feel genuinely relatable from our everyday experiences,” he says.

BOYNEXTDOOR scored its highest charting album to date in the U.S. when How? entered the Top Album Sales chart at No. 7 on the May 4-dated tally. The group released its first single album, Who! in May 2023, followed by the EP, Why.., in Sept. 2023 and this year’s How?

Watch BOYNEXTDOOR’s interview with Billboard above.

Earlier this year, while on YG‘s 4HUNNID podcast, Lil Wayne expressed interest in wanting to headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show in his hometown.

“I will not lie to you, I have not got a call,” Wayne said around the 23-minute mark during the February interview. “But we all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed. I’m working hard. I’m going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I’m going make it very hard for them to…I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy.”

He also added that acts are picked more on legacy than they are on having just “a hot single” and gave YG and his co-host credit for acknowledging his 30 years in the game.

As we now know, Wayne was passed up in favor of Kendrick Lamar for the upcoming 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which has many fans and artists upset. Weezy has yet to respond, but Nicki Minaj and Birdman have all made their feelings be known, as well as Wayne’s longtime engineer.

“These n—az Pussi @NICKIMINAJ @Drake @LilTunechi YMCMB,” Birdman tweeted earlier Monday. “I’m make these n—az respek us on Gladys.”

Nicki seemed to take aim at Jay-Z and his partnership with the NFL, tweeting, “One n—a took a knee. The other n—a took the bag,” while Weezy’s engineer Fabian Marasciullo expressed disappointment. “Confused. Disappointed. Angry. But most of all, inspired,” he wrote on his Instagram Story over the weekend. “Will never again be in a position or have the [GOAT] in a position where we are at the mercy of someone else’s decision. We will make the decisions.”

New Orleans has hosted the Super Bowl a record-tying 11 times (Miami is the other city), with 2013 being the last time the “Big Game” was played there. Beyoncé headlined the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show.

See Wayne’s interview from February below:

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Amazon is celebrating George Michael with a special collection marking the 40th anniversary of “Careless Whisper.”

Released Monday (Sept. 9), the seven-piece collection of T-shirts and hoodies features the lyric “Tonight the music seems so loud,” from Michael’s 1984 hit single with Wham!, along with retro photos of the late singer. The shirts and sweatshirts range from $24.99-$39.99 and are available in sizes S-5XL.

“We are proud to offer George’s loyal fans and music lovers worldwide, a very special 40th-anniversary edition of his timeless classic, ‘Careless Whisper’ along with an exclusive range of merchandise, only available from the George Michael Amazon shop,” George Michael Entertainment said in a statement.

The merch comes about a month before the release of the “Carless Whisper” 40th-anniversary vinyl dropping on Oct. 18. The limited-edition vinyl is available for pre-order at Amazon and will feature a previously unheard live version of “Careless Whisper” recorded at Madison Square Garden.

Amazon Music partnered with George Michael Entertainment in 2022 to release Amazon Original remixes of tracks taken from his 1996 album, Older.

“After the incredible success of the Older remix campaign, we’re excited to extend our collaboration with Amazon Music to celebrate such a universally loved track, and pay tribute to the timeless lyrics which continue to connect with fans,” said Andy Chandler, Director of Catalogue Streaming, Sony Music U.K.

“Careless Whisper,” a breakout hit from Wham!’s sophomore album Make It Big, spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. The song was co-written and co-produced by Michael and was credited to Wham! featuring George Michael in the U.S. and solely to Michael in other countries, including his native U.K. The song opens with one of music’s most recognizable, and quintessentially ‘80s, saxophone rifts that’s still popular, four decades later. So popular, that “Careless Whisper” became a TikTok meme with over 42 million posts.

Shop the merch collection below.

George Michael Tonight The Music Seems So Loud T-Shirt

$24.99

Buy Now On Amazon

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George Michael Retro Icon Pullover Hoodie

$39.99

Buy Now On Amazon

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Kendrick Lamar was announced Sunday as the headlining halftime show performer at Super Bowl LIX when the big game comes to New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome in February 2025.

Lamar follows recent Super Bowl headliners Usher and Rihanna, while the rapper also took the stage in 2022 as part of the hip-hop halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige.

“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said in the announcement. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”

Jay-Z added: “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”

With 75 Billboard Hot 100 entries to his name — including 15 top 10s and four No. 1 hits, with his latest being the Drake diss “Not Like Us,” which topped the chart for two weeks earlier this year — cutting K. Dot’s decorated discography down to fit a 12- to 15-minute show is a tough proposition.

From good kid, m.A.A.d city to DAMN. and To Pimp a Butterfly, there are plenty of anthems for Lamar to choose from for his upcoming set.

Even without releasing an album, 2024 has been a supremely memorable one for the Compton king. Kendrick set things off with his nuclear assist on Future and Metro Boomin’s No. 1 hit “Like That,” which led to him downing Drake in battle and sets the stage for the hopeful arrival of his next LP in the five months until Super Bowl LIX.

We want to hear from you! Vote for your favorite song that you hope to see Kendrick Lamar include in his Super Bowl halftime show setlist come February.