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Blake Shelton was feeling the Easter spirit on Sunday (April 9), so much so, that he took on the role of Easter Bunny for his friends and family.
Gwen Stefani took to Instagram to share a hilarious video of her country superstar husband dressed in a pink bunny suit, as well as their holiday festivities, to the tune of The Beatles‘ “Do You Want to Know a Secret.”
“bunny blake strikes again! hope u had a hoppy easter,” the “Hollaback Girl” singer captioned her post.
Shelton is currently amid his final season of The Voice. He announced his departure from the popular NBC singing competition, on which he’s been a coach since it premiered in 2011, back in October. “This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me,” he wrote in a statement posted to social media. “It’s been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people, you are the best. It takes a lot of work, passion, and adult beverages (Ha!) to pull off a live show twice a week.”
Thanking Mark Lee for 10 minutes of his time isn’t overdoing it. One of the busiest men in K-pop, the 23-year-old Toronto native is currently in Newark with NCT DREAM — one of three boy bands he’s a member of — backstage at the Prudential Center in the final minutes of preparation before the group’s first-ever U.S. concert.
But it’s not the first time Mark has graced this arena’s stage thanks to his intense range of opportunities. On April 8, 2016, Mark made his official debut on the K-pop scene with NCT and their minimalist, futuristic hip-hop cut “The 7th Sense” showcasing a then-16-year-old Mark rapping alongside NCT members Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaehyun and TEN as five stars in what would expand into the boy-band collective’s current 23-member galaxy. While Mark has assumed a range of concepts from joining two NCT offshoots in the spritely NCT DREAM and experimental NCT 127 where he first played Prudential Center — not to mention one-seventh of K-pop’s Billboard 200-topping supergroup SuperM — the ace’s seven-year anniversary is commemorated with his own music, and his own memes.
On April 7, Mark dropped “Golden Hour,” a new solo track, as part of the ongoing “NCT LAB” series where the different NCT members release music independent of their groups. It’s a self-assurance anthem, but the song’s lyrics lean heavily into NCT fan’s viral Twitter moment: 2017 Korean reality show It’s Dangerous Beyond the Blankets captured teen Mark helplessly attempting to fry an egg on the kitchen stove. With an influx of oil, a broken yolk and various parts of his egg burning and sticking to the pan, Mark’s fried failure became a legendary internet moment when a fan shared a photo of eggs from her “boyfriend” during a Gordon Ramsay Twitter Q&A. The MasterChef’s take? “Get back on Tinder!”
Seven years into the game, Mark stays on top of the jokes and celebrates NCT’s musical moments. He also knows the power of creating music meaningful to him, first and foremost, and its healing powers to balance what he calls “all this chaos” of being a boy-band MVP.
First out of the dressing room to talk with Billboard (it’s easier to get him seated before wrangling the other six DREAM members, ages 23-21, for their following interview), Mark starts with his signature, deadpan sarcasm before getting sharing his deeper, reflective side. The eldest member and native English speaker in the group, his goofy older-brother side also beamed while teasing and hugging all his NCT DREAM band mates through their 29-song set that was bursting with palpable fun for the audience and the septet themselves. But Mark’s thoughtful side inevitably came out when he took a moment to share how the crowd helped him recognize how far he had come.
“I wanted to say something that really comes from the heart,” Mark told the arena before closing the show. “Looking at you all, it really reminded me of when I used to live near here. Back then, I saw at that time the Korean idols that were famous and I always looked at them as if they were from a different world. It was something I never really got to fully connect with and now, over the years, I’m here back in the U.S. and North America and the perspective of being that K-pop idol. Tonight, it felt very meaningful for me to be here again. Thank you for celebrating with me in this moment.”
Celebrate the moment with Mark by getting into his new release for “Golden Hour,” his latest muse in Gordon Ramsay, and the moving reason why these tracks mean so much to him.
You’re one of the busiest men in K-pop, so thank you for the time. You’re here for the NCT DREAM tour, but your solo single is coming out in the middle of tour. First of all, where’s your head at now?
MARK: Where’s my head at? I think my head is where my body’s at, usually…I’m focused on the tour. I’m wearing the NCT DREAM cap, but I just can’t help but be excited about the release of “Golden Hour.” So, it is strange to know that my song’s going to be released during [preparations for] the show in Chicago with the time zones and everything. And I think, now, stuff like this will happen often for NCT. Or at least for me. It could be just a step that I have to take to get used to.
Congratulations on “Golden Hour,” it’s a really cool track. I always thought “Child” was special if just from hearing more singing from you. What sides are you showing on these songs that you hadn’t with others?
It’s really different and it’s experimental for me as well. This track was actually a song that I wanted to do instead of releasing “Vibration,” a song that I did as an NCT 127 solo stage [from the Neo City – The Link Tour]. No songs from those tours have come out officially and I debated between this instrumental and the “Vibrations” instrumental. But I knew I wanted a song with that guitar-ish heaviness and strong drums. I had that picture in my mind, but I didn’t expect it to fall more on the topic of “the egg story” and everything. Everything just kind of fell into place, I guess, but explaining the story was what I focused on the most.
How did this song end up connecting to the “egg situation” with the Gordon Ramsay tweet?
I didn’t expect it to go that far, but everything with it just connected and brought this whole web of egg stories for the song.
I was going to ask you your favorite lyric, but before I need to ask, how do you catch these obscure online moments with your busy schedule?
That story was something that we all knew about way back. And that was a long time ago…I don’t even know if that fan is still a fan.
Shout out to that fan, though.
And I did! I did a live
I saw you worked on it with Dress, Jane, and Ron, who also worked on “Child.” Tell us about these collaborators and how you work.
Those are the go-to guys for me. “Child” was the first song I did with Dress and, even then, we did it with Jane and Ron. For this one, I went to Dress’ house, but I usually do it at our SM studio; there’s a room, but I did it at his house for this first session. This became a crew that I became so comfortable with, but for “Golden Hour” there’s this guy called Sion, and he’s a musical talent himself that’s doing his solo stuff right now too. Dress brought him in because he felt he’d bring something good for the song. I wasn’t even there when he first heard it; I only had this draft demo of the song, and the next time I came in, Sion changed it, totally upgraded it and turned it into his own thing. We were all like, “Dang, yo, thank you so much.” He really graced us with his talents.
Do they hype you up and know these inside jokes and stories? Like, “Let’s talk about the Gordon Ramsay stuff!”
We had the most fun writing the lyrics because I was like, “Yo, I got this idea, we got to talk about this and that.” And then we just started throwing stuff in the air and then that just made it into more of a fun brainstorming session.
Just as this solo song comes, April 2016 was “The 7th Sense” and your first introduction to the world with NCT. It’s now your seven-year anniversary which is a special anniversary in K-pop. Can you remember yourself at that moment?
We were so innocent and just very excited to be released to the world. After SM’s reputation, us being the next boy band after EXO, we had high anticipation so we had to train hard. I just remember the last bit of my training life being very hardcore for practicing time. And the NCT system itself, it wasn’t easy. And so all of that just made us prepare even harder. But having “The 7th Sense” as my first debut song, I was honestly honored. The song goes so hard. It still does. Even today, I’m glad to be a part of it.
You have the famous line that international fans loved, “And that’s a long ass ride…”
[With emphasis] “It’s a long ass ride.” It’s so hard. It became a classic.
It’s standing the test of time. What do you still want to show as NCT’s MARK and as yourself?
That’s actually an interesting question because I don’t really vividly know exactly what but after working with Dress, various producers, and even after “Child,” I realized that I got to expand the way I saw myself too musically and just as a person too. There’s so many things to explore about the world, and there’s a universe inside my own self as well. So, the more I know about myself, the more I age, the more I mature—I just want to put that in the music and just grow with my music and see how far I can go.
You thought you could only be the rapper, but recognizing there’s more to try and show?
Yeah, I think I’m exploring more about my spectrum, and it’s fun to do that. The more I work in music, the more tracks I write on; that all opens another window for me to explore, so it’s fun.
The term all-rounder” is overused in K-pop, but I think you embody it. Not to gas you up, but you’re in NCT 127, a SuperM member, the leader of NCT DREAM, and doing solo work. How do you keep it all together and take care of yourself too?
This is an honest answer, but the reason why I released “Child” was because 2021 was actually one of the toughest years for me, schedule-wise. From the beginning of the year to the very end of 2021, I was just going nonstop. I realized by December, I looked back and was like, “I’ve done so much, but I feel empty inside. And I don’t feel like I don’t have anything that lasts for me to treasure for my own.”
I realized, “Dang, I think I should release a song of just me alone at the end of the year.” That got postponed, which eventually led to 2022 January or February-ish; that was when “Child” came out. That was when I realized, “Oh, I got to keep doing this for my own sake too. Not only for the fans but for how I can enjoy what I do in the middle of all this chaos.”
That song was the reminder to yourself about your love of music?
Yeah and this can all lead up to another big solo thing in the future. But, for sure, I want to show my fans—and myself—how I would look alone too. It’s something that I, before anyone else, have to want to do.
I think many people will find comfort in that so thank you. Is there anything else you want people to know about “Golden Hour”?
I hope Gordon Ramsay reads this.
Do you have a specific message for Gordon Ramsay?
Thank you for being my muse for this song. Check it out when you have time, man.
The first Sauce Boyz Fest will arrive with a bang. Conceived by Puerto Rican trap star Eladio Carrión, the event, which promises to be historic, will host some of the most exhilarating acts in the música urbana and rap game.
Headliners include Argentine giants Bizarrap and Duki, rap superstar Wiz Khalifa, Dominican dembow artist Tokischa, and rising stars like Young Miko, Dei V, Yovngchimi and more, with an expected attendance of 45,000 total. The event sold out weeks before the lineup was even announced.
“We really want [fest-goers] to have the best experience of their life. Musically it’s going to be crazy. I’ve been dying to just announce this lineup,” Carrión tells Billboard Español. Taking place May 18 and 20 in Mayagüez and San Juan, the Puerto Rican festival is the first of its kind, being held at a beer factory on day one and by the beach on day two. At the same time, Carrión will launch his own beer line, La H.
Billboard Español traveled to Puerto Rico to speak with the tremendo cabrón (reference to his newest album 3MEN2 KBRN) to discuss everything about his latest festival endeavor.
This is your first annual Sauce Boyz Fest. What’s the origin story?
My team and I were trying to figure out how to give fans a better show than our past one, which was at El Choliseo (Coliseo de Puerto Rico) [which took place last year]. It was a really good three days, so we had to do something extra special. It started off as something smaller and we just kept building and molding until this big gigantic monster formed. So it’s amazing that it’s going to be something crazy.
The festival was sold out before the lineup was announced! Were you surprised?
I kind of wasn’t because I know my fans, they know me, and they know that I’m never going to give them something mediocre. What they don’t know is how hard it’s going to be. They know it’s going to be special, but I don’t think they know it’s going to be this special. We went all out.
Talk to me about the logistics, where it takes place, etc.
We divided it into two events. We have the 18th, which is going to be in Mayagüez. Artists usually never do stuff on the West Side because there are no big venues. But we’re going to use the Cervecera where they make the beers in Puerto Rico. They make Medalla, they make our beer La H that we just came out with. We’re going to put [my] beer out [then]. On the 20th , we have the bigger event with a bigger stage. It’s at [Estadio] Sixto Escobar, an open [air] place. There’s a beach, and it’s humongous.
Let’s talk about the lineup.
As for the lineup, we have a bunch of local talent. We’re getting all the kids that are hot right now. We got Dei V, Yovngchimi, Young Miko… people that are stepping the game up from the younger cast of Puerto Rico. Just to name a few of them. As for headliners, we got Bizarrap, Tokischa, Duki and we got Wiz Khalifa. It’ll be Biza’s first time in Puerto Rico, and if I’m not mistaken, for Duki too.
Wiz, that’s the OG. That’s personally a win for me because I’m dying to see his show. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to try and see his show before I do mine. I’m excited for that one. I know they’re going to love it here, too. I think it’s Wiz’s first time live in Puerto Rico. We wanted to bring that cultural experience, not only for it to be Puerto Rican talent, but let [non-Puerto Rican artists] see [the island] for the first time with people who want to see them.
Bizarrap is in the best moment of his career right now. It’s going to be the first time we’re performing that [session] live together, too. It hasn’t been done yet.
You mentioned you’re launching a beer too at the same time?
We semi-launched it low key on the island. They just distribute it to all the places [in Puerto Rico]. This week, people just started buying it. But the official launch, the first announcement of my beer is going to be towards the festival.
What will make Sauce Boyz Fest a unique experience compared to other festivals in the Latin music circuit?
The experience. We got a crazy lineup, 25 artists confirmed, plus my show at the end. Besides the music, we’re really focusing on the experience, like when [fest-goers] are waiting for their favorite artist or when they arrive to the merch seccion — we really want them to have the best experience of their life. Musically it’s going to be crazy. I’ve been dying to just announce this lineup.
Kelly Clarkson kicked off the week of her popular daytime talk show on Monday (April 10) with a duet, calling on Charles Esten for an anthemic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days.”
With Esten on the guitar, the duo harmonized in the chorus of the ode to nostalgia, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart dated August 3, 1985. The song, featured on Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., spent a total of 18 weeks on the tally.
Other songs Clarkson has recently taken on for her Kellyoke segment include Lenny Kravitz’s cover of “American Woman,” GAYLE’s Grammy-nominated breakout “abcdefu” — complete with tweaked lyrics to allude to her divorce from Brandon Blackstock — and Janet Jackson’s “When I Think of You.”
Clarkson is also gearing up to release her highly anticipated album Chemistry, her first project of original, non-holiday music since 2017’s Meaning of Life. The studio set’s lead single “Mine” is set to arrive April 14 via Atlantic Records.
Watch Kelly Clarkson and Charles Esten perform Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” below.
Hayley Kiyoko serenaded her girlfriend Becca Tilley with a special song during her concert at London’s Koko on Sunday night.
Bringing the former Bachelor star onstage, Kiyoko had her love sit on a stool while she strummed the guitar. “If you do not know, this is my beautiful girlfriend Becca Tilley,” the pop singer told the ecstatic crowd. “She’s been living on the road with us for about a week. How’s it going?” (“It’s fine. I haven’t slept much,” Tilley replied.)
The artist known as Lesbian Jesus then told the audience, “I’m gonna play one of my favorite songs that I don’t normally get to play, and it’s called ‘Pretty Girl,’” before launching into an acoustic rendition of the 2016 deep cut that first appeared on her Citrine EP.
“I can see you’re real smart/ World-class piece of art/ I can see you in the dark/ All we have to do is start/ I just wanna tell you that you’re really pretty, girl/ I just wanna know if you will let me be your world/ I just know you got to taste like candy, candy girl/ I just wanna tell you that you’re really pretty, girl,” Kiyoko sang as Tilley gazed on adoringly and mouthed some of the words.
During the concert, the Panorama singer also performed a shortened version of “Determinate” from the 2011 Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth and a solo cut of “Hungry Heart,” her new collab with Galantis and Steve Aoki, among hits like “Sugar at the Bottom,” “What I Need,” “Girls Like Girls” and more.
Watch Kiyoko sing “Pretty Girl” directly to Tilley in fan-captured footage below.
A shooting at a 24-hour laundromat in Pembroke Park left one person dead, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said, and left the outside of the business dotted with bullet holes. Local … Click to Continue »
