BLACKPINK made music-festival history during their Coachella 2019 performance as the first female K-pop group to play at the iconic festival. Four years later, the quartet set a new standard entirely with a headlining slot at the Indio, Calif., fest.

Alongside Bad Bunny and Frank Ocean, BLACKPINK reign as one of the three main headliners for Coachella 2023 and the main musical affair for day 2 of both festival weekends on Saturday, April 15 and 22. While 2019 saw the act less than three years into their journey together for their Coachella debut with two EPs, Jennie‘s “Solo” debut and a handful of singles, the BLACKPINK ladies now boast two full-length albums, solo music from each member and multiple world tours to draw on for experience.

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Ahead of the meaningful moment this weekend, each BLACKPINK member reflected with Billboard about their first performance in 2019, their feelings about playing in the desert this time and more.

While Jennie wowed with her group and “Solo” performances at Coachella in 2019, the singer-rapper says her anticipation of returning to the festival stage surpasses any butterflies.

“We’re so excited and honored to be able to return to Coachella as headliners,” The Idol star says. “We had the best time in 2019 and can’t wait to experience the energy of the audience again. There are some nerves, but more than anything, we’re just ready to have fun.”

Rosé says she’s still coming to terms with the opportunity to come back as headliners but recalls how substantial their first performance was in fueling the quartet’s ambitions.

It feels absolutely unreal,” the “Gone” singer-songwriter says. “I think performing for Coachella in 2019 was a moment that really woke us up as BLACKPINK—to be motivated, to dream on and dream big. But we never expected anything as big as being the headliner of a festival we’ve all grown up admiring and hoping someday we could find ourselves in the crowd of.”

blackpink Jennie Rose Lisa Jisoo
From left, Jennie, Rose, Lisa and Jisoo of BLACKPINK perform onstage during the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2019 in Indio, California.

Fresh off her solo debut with “Flower,” Jisoo says with a laugh how “it’s always so happy to meet BLINKs up close” before adding, “2019 Coachella was full of fascination and excitement, but we have no clue how 2023 Coachella will be. We try all the time to show a new side of ourselves for each stage to repay the love from BLINKs. It is an honor to perform as a headliner for Coachella festival; we want to show our improvement as BLACKPINK on stage — and will — so, stay tuned.”

Despite the hundreds of thousands that attend Coachella, BLACKPINK’s youngest member Lisa says she’s sticking to the group’s mantra when approaching any performance, including anything unique for this weekend.

“Our motto is to enjoy every stage and moment, ‘as if it’s the last,’ [by] interacting with the audience by energy and doing our best while performing,” the “Money” superstar says while referencing a beloved BLACKPINK single from 2017. “We’re working hard on various performances for 2023 Coachella; look forward to it!”

While Rosé also wants to keep the focus on simply returning to the stage, she and her band mates know they must meet the moment. “We’re honestly just excited to be back at Coachella performing, period, but the deal here is—we’re headlining,” she explains. “We feel honored for this opportunity as much as we feel the immense responsibility. We’ll be bringing something fun to the table.”

After photographers snapped Jisoo and Lisa leaving for the U.S. from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport together earlier this week, the members have stayed relatively quiet – both from public view and on their social media – as they put in final preparations for Weekend 1.

Jisoo closes by saying, “Hope you enjoy 2023 Coachella with BLACKPINK,” before Jennie signs off with, “See you in the desert!”

Mariah Angeliq opens up to our R&B / Hip-Hop reporter Neena Rouhani about the success of her tracks ‘Ricota’ and ‘Perreito’, being named after Mariah Carey, her love for Ivy Queen, and more!

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Ariana Grande is getting glossy with a fan favorite from her R.E.M. Beauty line that you might want to add to your list of things to buy for festival season. The 29-year-old singer and actress shared some glam inspiration with her millions of Instagram followers on Monday (April 10).

Grande went for a fairy-inspired glam look in R.E.M. Beauty’s On Your Collar Plumping Lip Gloss ($17) and other products from the line including Practically Perfect Lip Stain Marker ($16), Eclipse Cheek & Lip Stick ($18), Intersteller Highlighter Topper ($22) and Sweetener Concealer ($24).

Grande wore the lip plumping gloss in an iridescent shade named “jelly sandals,” but the gloss is available in a range of colors including nudes, pinks, lavender and burgundy wine.

She also shared the full product rundown on the Instagram post, which she captioned “When your gloss matches your wings.”

On Your Collar Plumping Lip Gloss
$17

The singer is currently across the pond filming a silver-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, featuring a star-studded cast that includes Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Kristin Chenoweth, Bowen Yang and Jonathan Bailey. The musical, directed by Jon Chu, is slated to hit theaters sometime next year.

In other Grande news, the Grammy winner took to TikTok on Tuesday (April 11) to address body-shaming comments that she’s received.

“I don’t do this often,” Grande began. “I’m not good at it, and I don’t like it, but I just wanted to address your concerns about my body and talk a little about what it means to be a person with a body and to be paid such close attention to. I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s body’s, no matter what. Healthy, unhealthy, big, small, sexy, not-sexy –- we just shouldn’t. We should really work towards not doing that as much.”

Grande went on to open up about some of the older photos that fans have been comparing her current body to. “There are many different kinds of beautiful. There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. I know personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body.”

“I was on a lot of anti-depressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my ‘healthy.’ But that in fact wasn’t my healthy, I know I shouldn’t have to explain this but I do feel like maybe having an openness and vulnerability, something good might come from it, I don’t know. But that’s the first thing, healthy can look different. The second thing is you never know what someone’s going through, so even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person probably is working on it or has a support system that they are working on it with. You never know, so be gentle with each other and with yourselves.”

In closing Grande added, “And thirdly, I just wanted to extend some love your way and tell you that you’re beautiful. No matter what phase you’re in.”

Watch the full video below.

Mariah Angeliq caught up with Billboard News to discuss the criticisms that inspired her latest single “Ricota,” running away from home to pursue music and how she thrives as a woman in reggaeton.

“I [grew up] listening to music because of my mom. She has a love for music and named me Mariah because Mariah Carey was her favorite artist,” she explains. “When I was like 9, I realized yeah, I wanna be on the screen. That could be me.” 

The Miami native has seen much success in a short time, including her breakout single “Perreito,” which she performed at Billboard’s 2022 Latin Music Week and later with the chart-topping “EL MAKINON” alongside Colombian star Karol G. 

Mariah recalled meeting producer Nely “El Arma Secreta” at age 16 and was motivated by the Luny Tunes hitmaker to begin singing in Spanish. “For all my teenage years, I was singing in English and thinking to myself that I was going to be like the next fire R&B American artist,“ she tells Billboard

Around that time, Mariah ran away from home to fully immerse herself in the pursuit of music, something she says her family didn’t take seriously early on. Despite the lack of enthusiasm from her loved ones, she pressed forward. “We always know as artists that we’re going to make it,” she says. “I always believed in myself, and in my music.” 

Her most recent single, “Ricota,” came in response to Internet “haters” hurling insults at the 23-year-old singer regarding her weight. “They started saying I was fat and I’m not here looking for validation. I think what that’s what the message of the song is,” Mariah explains. “Society has such a distorted perspective of beauty. But while I was getting all those negative comments, I received a DM saying that I was ‘bien ricota,’ so I got inspired.”

When it comes to navigating reggaeton, which for most of its history has been male-dominated, she draws on inspirations like Ivy Queen and her own “boss” energy. “I feel like I’ve navigated or learned to navigate through it really well because of my attitude and my strong character. You just gotta learn to speak up for yourself and have a voice.” 

Mariah will embark on a European tour this summer, and possibly a U.S. tour to follow.

Billie Eilish celebrated Easter with her family on Sunday (April 9), enjoying chocolate-filled baskets, flowers and all the joys of spring.

In a series of photos shared to Instagram on Tuesday (April 11), Eilish showed off her outfit for the festivities: a floral-printed, off-the-shoulder maxi dress that she paired with white fishnet stockings and classic white sneakers.

One of the snaps indicated that her boyfriend, The Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford, was at the event, as his tattooed hand is seen placed on the “Bad Guy” singer’s thigh.

The seven-time Grammy winner captioned the post with a series of flower-themed emojis.

The “Happier Than Ever” singer opened up about her relationship with Rutherford in her annual Vanity Fair video interview in November “It’s really cool, and I’m really excited and I’m really happy about it,” she said of her romance with the 31-year-old rock star. “I managed to get my life to a point where I not only was known by a person that I thought was the hottest f–king f–ker alive, but pulled his ass! Are you kidding me? Can we just [get a] round of applause for me … thank you, Jesse Rutherford, everyone! I pulled his a–. All me. I did that s–t.”

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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.”