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Mandisa died of complications from class III obesity, according to an autopsy report obtained by People on Tuesday (June 4). The Grammy-winning American Idol finalist was 47 years old when she was found dead on April 18.
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According to the autopsy report, when she was found in her Tennessee home by friends, she “was last known alive approximately three weeks” earlier. The report lists her manner of death as natural.
In April, a representative for Mandisa confirmed her death to Billboard, adding: “We ask for your prayers for her family and close-knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
After competing on season 5 of American Idol in 2006 and finishing in ninth place, Mandisa released her first album, True Beauty, the next year, with the project debuting atop Billboard‘s Top Christian Albums chart.
In 2011, Mandisa earned her first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Christian Airplay chart with “Stronger” and earned a top 20 hit on the chart with “Good Morning” featuring TobyMac. But her biggest success came with 2013’s Overcomer, which earned her the Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album and whose title track spent 10 weeks atop Billboard‘s Hot Christian Songs chart.
Mandisa’s Idol peers paid tribute to the late singer last month during the show’s 22nd season, with Melinda Doolittle (season 6), Danny Gokey (season 8) and Colton Dixon (season 11) all returning to the show to perform the song “Shackles (Praise You)” in her honor.
“Not only did our industry lose a really big voice and a powerhouse of a person, but Christian music lost its No. 1 cheerleader,” Dixon said in an interview with Billboard ahead of the tribute’s airing.
Lady Gaga didn’t waste any time shutting down recent pregnancy rumors, taking to TikTok to post a cheeky response video that includes a Taylor Swift lyrical reference.
“Not pregnant–just down bad cryin at the gym,” reads the message across her latest TikTok, referencing Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department track “Down Bad,” which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month. (The full lyric: “Now I’m down bad crying at the gym/ Everything comes out teenage petulance.”)
Gaga also didn’t miss a high-profile opportunity to urge her Little Monsters to make their voices heard, adding: “Register to vote at www.headcount.org.”
The video itself sees Gaga in a dramatic black-eyeliner look, lip-syncing to a TikTok voice-over that says: “I don’t have to find an aesthetic. I am an aesthetic. I mean I’m sure there’s somebody out here right now who’s going into Pinterest trying to type up all these adjectives to describe me.” The audio was originally posted by TikTok user notpennyproud back in 2021.
The pregnancy rumors cropped up over the weekend, thanks to fans thinking they saw evidence of a baby bump in photos of Gaga attending her sister’s wedding Saturday with partner Michael Polansky.
Late last month, the Gaga Chromatica Ball concert film premiered on HBO and Max and hinted at the pop superstar’s next musical era, with a message reading “LG7 GAGA RETURNS” flashing onscreen at the end. And that won’t be her only major project: Her turn as Harley Quinn in the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux musical sequel — alongside original Joker star Joaquin Phoenix — is set to hit theaters on Oct. 4.
Watch Gaga’s TikTok response below:
Dance headliner Illenium has taken to X to respond to fans roasting him online for using artificial intelligence to design a flier for his upcoming four-night run at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
On Monday, Illenium announced four dates at the San Francisco venue, July 19-20 and 26-27. A number of fans suspected the artwork for the show poster was created using AI and took to Twitter to roast the dance star. The image features a man, who is supposed to be Illenium, wearing a backward San Francisco Giants hat while standing in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge staring at the city skyline.
Fans were quick to call out the poster, calling it ugly and complaining that Illenium should pay an actual artist for artwork rather than using AI.
Earlier Tuesday (June 4), Illenium copped to the AI allegations, writing on X, “Hey guys, I hear all ur feedback on the sf art. My mgmt worked with (and paid) a designer on a few options. Our team had also created an ai version to help conceptualize. My mgmt ended up using the ai art because they’re stupid and have no taste. However, we still worked with designers to create the final result. We realize now that a few elements were sloppy and missed by us. New artwork incoming.”
A number of fans roasted Illenium for his response, with user @chieflaser writing, “Blaming it on your management like you don’t have the final say? Tough look, while @LikRRaider mocked the fan outcry, writing, “Why are you caving to people on the internet? It’s really not that big of a deal. Pay people for the time they came up with designs, but if you find you like something more then stick to it. People, if you want your art used then you should probably get better at it.”
Fellow dance star John Summit weighed in too, writing in the replies: “the mgmt dunk lmfaoooo if we had it their way flyers would just be date & location w ticket link via notes app.”
Artist presale for all four shows opens Wednesday (June 5) here.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO are on a journey toward expanding their family. The “Halfway to Hell” hitmaker made an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast on Monday, and when the discussion turned to his current fitness focus, Jelly Roll revealed a surprise.
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“My wife and I are talking about having a baby, and it really made me realize that at almost 40, I was like, it means I got to live to at least 60. I got to see this kid into college,” Jelly Roll said. “My plan was never to be 60. It was to be like 55. I think [the Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry] Garcia died at 56. I was young, so I was like, ’56 would be great for me! …It’s better than 27 when all the other stars died. It’s 27 or 56 in the celebrity world. Let me be 56.’ But now I’m like, ‘I’d like to see my 60s.’ You know what I mean? And that really lit it up.”
Meanwhile, Bunnie XO also shared a snippet from the podcast on her social media, adding in the caption, “God willing–Baby DeFord 2026,” and revealing that the couple is undergoing their own IVF journey.
Bunnie XO added, “Papa Bear dropped a surprise on this pod today. We had planned on doing this privately, but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/ all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard and we have only just begun. We have been meeting with IVF doctors & exploring all our options to add to our family.”
Bunnie XO continued, “J and I are so excited and scared all at the same time. We genuinely never thought we’d want to add to our family but something changed this year & we both just want a piece of us together to add to our our already perfect family with Bailee & Noah [Jelly Roll’s children from previous relationships]….so here we go y’all! Send all your love our way.”
Last month, Jelly Roll ran his first 5K, with Bunnie by his side. In training for the 5K, the singer lost more than 50 pounds.
“I couldn’t walk a mile when I started trying to do this back in January,” he told Entertainment Tonight after finishing the 5K race. “So the fact that we got 3-point-whatever it was [miles], got it down, I feel really, really good about it.”
Jelly Roll has notched three Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers to date with “Son of a Sinner,” “Need a Favor” and his Lainey Wilson collaboration “Save Me.” He will also perform a headlining set at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest in Nashville on Saturday.
Alana Springsteen, Dasha, and George Birge are a few of the names set to perform at Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard this weekend.
Fans 21 and older in age can RSVP for tickets.
Tetris Kelly:
George Birge, Dasha and more are coming together in Nashville for Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard and we have all the details. Some of the most exciting names in country are converging for a two day concert event during CMA Fest. Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard will take place at Tin Roof Broadway and featured performances from Dalton Dover, Corey Kent and Alana Springsteen on June 7th. Meanwhile, LOCASH, George Birge and Dasha will hit the stage on June 8th. Concert goers can also test out their line dancing skills with vibes provided by DJ Bad Ash and Disko Cowboy and of course plenty of ice cold But Light. Fans 21 and older can RSVP for tickets at budlight.com backslash BackyardNashville.
As a part of the partnership we dive into some of the artists careers with the Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard Series. With George Birge’s installment the singer spoke about the importance of his Texas roots
George Birge:
Growing up in Austin, country music is kind of just in your veins from the first parties you go to, to riding in the truck, or the car with your mom and dad and it being on the radio.
Tetris Kelly:
While Alana Springsteen shared her secrets to songwriting.
Alana Springsteen:
The secret to writing great songs and being creative is just keeping it casual.
Tetris Kelly:
And Dalton Dover recalled what it means to be a part of the country genre.
Keep watching to learn more!
The girls in rap are at it again. Cardi B & Bia’s beef is heating up, as Bia releases the diss track “Sue Meee?” after their feud online. Keep watching to find out more.
Tetris Kelly:
Cardi B and Bia had a feud on the Internet, and Bia has put it in music. It was believed that Cardi B subbed Bia on the “Wanna Be Remix.” Also, Bia replied to a tweet saying Cardi B has her on her mood board, and Cardi went on IG Live attempting to clear the air. After threatening to sue Bia, the rapper has dropped the diss track “Sue Meee?” She even used cover art that references when Offset accused Cardi of cheating on him. Do you have a side in this beef? Let us know in the comments.
MNRK Music Group president/CEO Chris Taylor is resigning from his post effective June 28, the company announced Monday (June 3). Taylor, who will be succeeded by COO Sean Stevenson, is taking the company’s artist management division with him.
Based in New York, Stevenson will begin leading MNRK on July 1. He was promoted to COO in July 2022 after previously serving as executive vp/GM.
“We wish Chris the best in his future endeavors,” said Stevenson in a statement. “He’s been a great leader and partner over the years, and I look forward to continuing the growth of MNRK with the whole team.”
MNRK’s artist management roster currently includes Powfu, Lights, The Afghan Whigs, Diana Gordon Arkells, Delilah Montagu, Daniel Lanois, Alice Ivy, Robert Finley, The Wild Feathers and Great Good Fine Ok, among other acts.
Taylor joined MNRK, at the time called Entertainment One (eOne), in 2016 to run the music division. As part of the eOne team, he was involved in overall strategy and the company’s sale to Hasbro in 2020 for $4 billion. In 2021, Hasbro sold the music division to Blackstone for a reported $385 million and eOne Music was renamed MNRK Music Group.
Taylor has been named to Billboard‘s Indie Power Players list multiple times.
MNRK’s artist roster includes High on Fire, Underoath, Ace Frehley, Kash Doll, Fox Lake and Pop Evil; it also distributes the Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang imprints. On the publishing side, it boasts deals with such songwriters as Lauren Faith, Destiny Rogers and 9am. According to a press release, the company’s publishing catalog includes 54,000 music tracks.
Brother Marquis, integral member of the influential, yet controversial rap group 2 Live Crew has died at age 57. While no cause of death has been officially confirmed, TMZ reports natural causes.
Born Mark Ross, Brother Marquis joined 2 Live Crew in 1986—two years after the late Fresh Kid Ice and DJ Mr Mixx relocated from Riverside, California to Miami to link up with local promoter Luke Skyywalker. Already starting to pioneer the Miami Bass sound with songs like “Throw the D,” Brother Marquis added his comedic wordplay to the mix and made appearances on the group’s 1986 debut album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are with the album’s intro being the first song he recorded with the group.
Brother Marquis also appeared on some of the group’s biggest and most controversial songs like “Me So Horny,” “Pop That P—y,” and “Banned in the U.S.A.“
After the group broke up during the early ’90s, Brother Marquis went on to form a group with Atlanta’s DJ Toomp, releasing the album Indecent Exposure in 1993. He also featured on the original version of Ice-T’s “99 Problems,” whose remake became a massive hit in 2004 thanks to Jay-Z.
Brother Marquis reunited with Mr. Mixx and Fresh Kid Ice over the years, releasing music and touring as the 2 Live Crew. Unfortunately, Fresh Kid Ice passed away in 2017, a year after leaving the group for good. Mr. Mixx and Brother Marquis released the Christmas rap song “One Horse Sleigh” during the 2016 holiday season as The 2 Live Crew.
With house music becoming a worldwide phenomenon, its story of origin is often overlooked. Beyoncé helped spread awareness of its history and the genre itself with her album, ‘Renaissance.’ Keep watching to find out how it emerged and grew in popularity overtime!
Transcript:
Tetris Kelly:
We experienced the “Renaissance” and for Black Music Month we’re taking a look at the history of house music.
DJ Minx:
For the black people that created the house music, which a lot of folks don’t know, are from Chicago. We don’t see them when we walk around, we see a bunch of white men. We’re the black creators, history needs to be taught.
Tetris Kelly:
When researching house music, it can be easily discovered that the genre was created in Chicago by black and primarily gay DJs in the late 1970s and 80s. One DJ, Frankie Knuckles, helped jumpstart the sound by blending disco funk and German electropop. By 1984 songs like “On & On” became what some consider the first real house records. The genre has grown from basements to festivals around the world and always kept its core value of finding joy and making community, something that Beyoncé captured with the release of ‘Renaissance.’
And as a black woman reclaiming the genre, she made history winning the Grammy for Best Dance Electronic Music Album.
Beyoncé
I’d like to thank the queer community for your love, and for inventing the genre.
