Selena Gomez is in rare financial air. According to a report from Bloomberg published Friday (Sept. 6), the 32-year-old star has officially crossed over into billionaire status.

More precisely, Gomez now has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion, making her one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires. The publication attributes the “vast bulk” of her wealth to the success of her popular Rare Beauty business, which she launched in 2019.

Billboard has reached out to Gomez’s rep for comment.

Other ventures making up her reported 10-figure bank account are the multi-hyphenate’s music catalog and acting roles — most recently Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez and Hulu’s ongoing Only Murders in the Building — as well as her real-estate portfolio and brand partnerships, bolstered by her 424 million followers on Instagram, the third-most on the app. Gomez also boasts earnings from her investments, including her stake in her mental health platform Wondermind, which she founded in 2022 with her mom, Mandy Teefey, and entrepreneur Daniella Pierson.

The “Lose You to Love Me” singer is now one of a handful of musicians to become a billionaire, joining close friend Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Ye and Bruce Springsteen. The Boss was the latest to join the elite club before Gomez, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $1.1 billion in July.

The news comes about a week after the fourth-season premiere of Only Murders, the previous season of which earned Gomez Emmy nods for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series and best comedy series. Her next endeavor is a Disney+ reboot of the Disney Channel series where she got her start — Wizards of Waverly Place — for which she’ll executive produce and make an appearance alongside David Henrie, who played her older brother in the original series.

“I truly feel like it was the place I started, and I will always be grateful for that time,” Gomez said of the Oct. 29-slated project in a recent interview with People. “I just hope that this new chapter can bring a whole new audience joy the same way that we did when we were younger.”

On this week’s (Sept. 6) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we take a look at a pair of “Mirror” men: all-time rap legend Lil Wayne (No. 21) and classic pop entertainer Bruno Mars (No. 20).

First, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by staff writer Kyle Denis and deputy director of R&B/hip-hop (and host of Billboard Unfiltered) Carl Lamarre to talk about the self-proclaimed Best Rapper Alive, Lil Wayne. We share memories from Wayne’s golden age — in particular of 2008, the official Year of Weezy — and break down both how he was able to turn all of popular music into Wayne’s World, and then how he was able to retreat from the spotlight without sacrificing his relevance or his legacy. We also go deep on the question that many have had upon seeing the rapper born Dwayne Carter’s name on our list: Is Lil Wayne definitely even a pop star in the first place?

Then, at around the 45:40 mark, Carl is replaced by Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart manager Trevor Anderson to pivot to all things Bruno Mars. We analyze how Bruno Mars was able to prove an immediate exception to so many top 40 rules of the 2010s: an old-school pop purveyor in an era of rap and EDM, a proven triple-threat performer in an era of bedroom pop stars, and a distant star personality in an era of chronically online oversharers. We also share our takes on how Bruno has somehow gone nearly a decade and a half as a preeminent pop hitmaker without ever once even hinting at a flop era — and how long he can keep his winning streak up from here.

Listen to our latest below, catch up on our past episodes here, and be sure to subscribe to Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century series wherever you get your podcasts! (New episodes will be revealed every Friday, following the publishing of our two new Greatest Pop Star rankings for that week.)

Cyndi Lauper, who won best female video at the very first MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 14, 1984, is among the presenters at this year’s show, which is set for Sept. 11.

Lauper took best female video at that first show for her zesty “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and brought comic relief by explaining the VMA eligibility and voting rules in gibberish, which has been described as similar to “ancient Babylonian.”

Lauper was also the leading nominee at that first show with nine nods, but Herbie Hancock was the night’s big winner, with five wins.

Carson Daly, who also has deep MTV roots, is also set to present. Daly hosted MTV’s popular TRL from 1998 to 2003. TRL was based on two previous shows, Total Request and MTV Live, both of which had also been hosted by Daly.

Other presenters set for this year’s show are Addison Rae, Alessandra Ambrosio, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Big Sean, Busta Rhymes, Damiano David (Måneskin), DANNA, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Flavor Flav, French Montana, Halle Bailey, Jordan Chiles, Lil Nas X, Miranda Lambert, Naomi Scott, Paris Hilton, Suki Waterhouse, Thalía and Tinashe.

Teddy Swims and Jessie Murph are set to make their VMA debuts by performing on the Extended Play Stage. Both are MTV Push artists and multiple nominees. Swims has four nods, including best new artist and best alternative. Murph has two, including best collaboration feat. Jelly Roll. Swims will perform “Lose Control,” a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and “The Door.”

Le Sserafim will make their U.S. award show debut by performing on the VMAs pre-show. The K-pop girl group recently landed their first Hot 100 hit (“Easy”) and performed at Coachella. Le Sserafim have had two top 10 albums or EPs on the Billboard 200 (Unforgiven and Easy).

Hosted by Nessa, Dometi Pongo and Kevan Kenney, the 90-minute live VMAs pre-show special airs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, MTV2, CMT and Logo.

Megan Thee Stallion is set to host and perform on the main show. Katy Perry will receive the Video Vanguard Award and perform a hit medley. Other performers include Anitta (feat. Fat Joe, DJ Khaled + Tiago PZK), Benson Boone, Camila Cabello, Chappell Roan, GloRilla, Halsey, KAROL G, Lenny Kravitz, LISA, LL COOL J, Rauw Alejandro, Sabrina Carpenter and Shawn Mendes.

With the addition of social categories, Taylor Swift still leads in terms of most nominations (12), followed by Post Malone (11), Eminem (eight), Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, Sabrina Carpenter + SZA (seven each); Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, GloRilla, LISA, Olivia Rodrigo + Teddy Swims (four each).

General fan voting closes Friday (Sept. 9) on MTV’s website. Voting for best new artist remains active through the show.

The 2024 VMAs will air live on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT across MTV’s global footprint, including BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Nick at Nite, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, VH1 and Univision.

Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic are executive producers. Barb Bialkowski is co-executive producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba are executives in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is music talent executive.

Last spring, while working with Post Malone on his upcoming country album, the hired studio songwriters took a break. Malone started noodling on guitar. “He’d be playing, like, old B-sides, Toby Keith songs, that nobody knew,” recalls Chase McGill, a Nashville veteran who has written songs for Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney and many others. “But he knew everything.”

When Malone’s F-1 Trillion came out in late August, the pop and hip-hop star had an advantage that previous country crossover hopefuls have lacked. He plunged into the country-music business, and into Nashville, working with respected local songwriters (like McGill, Taylor Phillips and James McNair), gigging at key local clubs (Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and the Bluebird Cafe), collaborating with veterans (he performed with Dwight Yoakam on SiriusXM) and recording duets with other stars (Hank Williams Jr., Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs and Wallen are on the album).

“That’s the difference when somebody brushes up against the genre vs. someone who immersed themselves into the genre,” says Randy Chase, programming executive vp for Summit Media, the Birmingham, Ala., broadcaster that owns nine country stations. “When people try to cross into country from other genres, a lot of times it’s on their terms, and they want to put their foot into the pool. He went all in, even with the risk that it could hurt him down the road.” Adds Tom Poleman, chief programming officer for top broadcast chain iHeartMedia: “He understands country music. It’s not like he’s just trying to learn how to be a country artist overnight.”

Post’s duet with Wallen, “I Had Some Help,” debuted at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs and the Hot 100 in late May, scoring 76.4 million streams and, earlier this week, topped Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart. 

Adding “I Had Some Help” to heavy rotation was “a no-brainer,” says Steve Stewart, Cox Media Group’s director of country content. “Morgan continues to be one of the hottest artists on the planet, so that immediately gave us the green light.” Similarly, Summit’s country stations played “I Had Some Help” twice an hour throughout its debut day, then once an hour the next day and repeatedly through the weekend. “I heard the song about two weeks before it came out,” adds Summit’s Chase. “I said, ‘This is a country record that is also going to go pop.’” 

Last week, F-1 Trillion landed atop the Billboard 200, Post’s first No. 1 since his pop album Hollywood’s Bleeding in 2019. (The new album also hit No. 1 on Top Country Albums in its debut week.) “There are legitimately 15-plus songs that could be radio singles,” says Scott Donato, program director and operations manager for WGTY, a country station in York, Penn. “It reminds me of late-’90s, early-2000s country. He’s been able to capture every corner of the format.”

Before Post Malone became famous as a hip-hop artist with 2015’s “White Iverson,” he performed at a Dallas-area Italian restaurant where he worked during high school, and later covered songs by Hank Williams and Bob Dylan in videos he posted online. He became an established star who could fill U.S. arenas, then began transitioning to country around 2018.

The marketing teams at Big Loud Records and major label Mercury/Republic Records, already working together on Wallen’s releases, soon began brainstorming Post Malone marketing plans from the conference room at Big Loud headquarters in Nashville. (The two labels are teaming up on radio promotion – Big Loud for country, Mercury for Top 40 and other formats.) “Post ingratiated himself within the creative community — opened up to writers, collaborators and session musicians — that were the throughline of this campaign,” says Patch Culbertson, executive vp and general manager of Big Loud, adding that his company helped make introductions to Parton, Shelton, Williams and others. “They had a great vision from the beginning.”

Big Loud execs persuaded Mercury’s team to start the album’s campaign earlier than planned, so it could set up a splashy CMA Fest appearance, in which Post and Shelton performed “Pour Me a Drink.” “He got the hit on TV, which is a whole different demo from what he was used to serving,” says Candice Watkins, Big Loud’s senior vp of marketing. “He got to meet the industry.”

In April, Post performed at the Stagecoach Festival, where Jordan Pettit, the Grand Ole Opry’s director of artist relations and programming, was in attendance. Pettis later spoke to Alex Coslov, executive vp of Mercury Records, and “there was immediate interest on their behalf to pursue his Opry debut as part of their launch plan,” Pettit recalls.

Post performed at the Opry for the first time in mid-August. “It began to take on the feel that this was not just a pop artist leaning into country music for a moment in time,” Pettit says. Coslov added to Billboard: “Our core strategy was built around showcasing the authenticity of Post’s entry into country music by highlighting his time in Nashville.”

Several country programmers say Post is the type of artist who will be able to toggle between genres, depending on his musical impulses, and may not be absent from Top 40 and hip-hop radio playlists for long after F-1 Trillion. (His first three albums combined for 11 billion to 12 billion on-demand streams apiece, according to Luminate, but he dipped on 2022’s Twelve Carat Toothache, with just 1.88 billion streams.) “This is a guy who went, ‘This is my art, here it is,’” says Tim Roberts, vp of programming and format captain for radio chain Audacy. “Could he make a whole pop album next year? Absolutely.” Post’s tour begins this Sunday in Salt Lake City, and “it really is all country-based,” according to Big Loud’s Watkins, although she expects pop hits, too.

So far, Post’s pop-to-country transition has far surpassed  similar moves by Sheryl Crow, Jessica Simpson, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, or even Beyoncé, whose Cowboy Carter album was a culture-dominating hit earlier this year, but did not stick to country radio formats. “The Beyoncé songs weren’t great country songs; they were great Beyoncé songs,” says Nate Deaton, general manager of online country station KRTY.com in San Jose. “The Sheryl Crow country record was really good, but it didn’t have any hits on it — it didn’t have ‘Pour Me a Drink. It didn’t have one of those songs that was a standout runaway smash.’”

Deaton calls Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker’s debut country album, 2008’s Learn to Live, a more apt comparison: “He did the exact same thing that Post Malone did. He went to Nashville and ingratiated himself with Nashville songwriters. Darius got on a bus and went to all these radio stations, even though he was a big star.” For Post Malone, Deaton adds, “It would not surprise me at all to see an ongoing country career, a la Darius.”