Rihanna unveiled more personal photos of her son with A$AP Rocky — and made a joke about her upcoming Oscars performance of “Lift Me Up” while she was at it.

“my son when he found out his sibling is going to the Oscars and not him,” she joked in the caption of pictures posted on Instagram and Twitter on Sunday (March 5).

The superstar, who revealed she’s pregnant with her second child during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, is set to sing her Oscar-nominated ballad from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12. Thus, Baby No. 2 will have sort of attended both the Super Bowl and the Oscars as a “special guest” before his birth.

“Lift Me Up,” co-written by Rihanna, is competing for best original song Sunday night.

RiRi first shared a photo of her firstborn, whose name has not yet been shared publicly, in February. He arrived in May 2022.

With just a week to go until awards night, see snapshots of Rihanna’s sweet child below.

Karol G’s historic No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Mañana Será Bonito feels “enormous,” the Colombian star says.

Not only is the album in the top spot of the all-genre albums chart, but it’s Karol G’s first album to reach No. 1 on the chart and the first all-Spanish-language album by a female artist to land at No. 1.

“I feel so very special. More than happiness I feel special,” Karol G tells Billboard, who spoke with her as the news was reported.

“My last album did so well and had all those big hits, like ‘Bichota,’ so the bar was high. But I didn’t want to make music because I felt pressure. I wanted to make the music I wanted to make, and the fact that I’ve hit No. 1 with an album that is so personal is enormous,” she says.

Mañana Será Bonito is also the first Latin album by a woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since 1995. That year, Selena’s posthumously-released, partially-Spanish-language album Dreaming of You topped the chart for one week.

Karol G — who considers Selena one of her idols — reacted with excitement, noting, “I’m sharing something with Selena! That’s amazing. Imagine my year: I met Rihanna, I recorded with Shakira and now I have a No. 1 on the chart like Selena did.”

Karol G and Shakira joined forces for the first time with new single and Mañana album track “TQG,” which dropped on Feb. 24.

“And how cool is it that on International Women’s Month I get to No. 1 and the artist before me at No. 1 was SZA,” Karol G added. “And that ‘TQG’ is No. 1 [on Spotify] and all these songs by women are in the top slots. We’re living such a strong moment. Now, we’re going for more.”

— Reporting by Leila Cobo.

Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito makes an unprecedented splash on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated March 11), as the set debuts atop the tally. It’s both the first No. 1 for the artist and the chart’s first No. 1 all-Spanish-language album by a female artist.

Previously, only two all-Spanish albums led the list, both by Bad Bunny (Un Verano Sin Ti in 2022 and El Ultimo Tour del Mundo in 2020).

(Mañana is effectively an all-Spanish-language effort, save for a handful of English lyrics by guest artist Sean Paul on one track.)

Mañana earned 94,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 2, according to Luminate. Its starting sum was largely powered by streaming activity.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Gorillaz collect their sixth top 10-charting set with the No. 3 debut of Cracker Island, Yeat achieves his third top 10 with the No. 4 bow of AfterLyfe and Don Toliver nabs his third top 10, as well, with the No. 8 arrival of Love Sick. Plus, The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy returns to the top 10 for the first time since 2017 (climbing 14-9), following the release of a new remix for the set’s resurgent “Die for You.”

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 11, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 7. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Mañana’s 94,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 83,000 (equaling 118.73 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 17 tracks), album sales comprise 10,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. The album’s sales were largely powered by its digital download album (8,500), though there was a CD available in limited quantities, selling about 1,500 copies. The digital album was also offered in two alternative cover variants on Karol G’s official webstore.

Mañana logs the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a Latin album by a woman since the chart began measuring by units in December of 2014. (Latin albums are defined as those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.) Further, as Mañana generated 118.73 million official on-demand streams for its songs, the set registers the biggest streaming week ever for a Latin album by a woman.

Mañana is also the first Latin album by a woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since 1995, when Selena’s posthumously-released, mostly-Spanish effort Dreaming of You topped the list for one week. (The 13-song Dreaming album has six tracks in Spanish, five in English and two duets that blend English and Spanish.)

Only three mostly-non-English-language albums by women have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – the all-Spanish Mañana, Dreaming of You and The Singing Nun’s all-French-language self-titled album in 1963.

Karol G made her Billboard chart debut in 2016 and has been a force on Billboard’s Latin genre charts ever since, notching 17 top 10 hits on the Hot Latin Songs chart – including five No. 1s (through the most recently published chart, dated March 4). On the Top Latin Albums list, she’s previously logged a trio of top two-charting sets, including one No. 1, her previous release, KG0516, in 2021.

Mañana is the fourth charting album for Karol G on the all-genre Billboard 200, but first to reach the top 10. She previously visited the list with KG0516 (No. 20 in 2021), Ocean (No. 54 in 2019) and Unstoppable (No. 192 in 2017). Preceding the release of the new album, Karol had logged five top 40-charting hit songs on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, but with three of them coming in 2022: “Mamiii,” with Becky G (No. 15), “Provenza” (No. 25) and “Gatubela,” with Maldy (No. 37). Both “Mamiii” and “Provenza” became Karol’s first top 10-charting hits on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, reaching Nos. 5 and 10, respectively. (Both “Provenza” and “Gatubela” are included on Mañana.)

SZA’s SOS falls to No. 2 after 10 nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, earning nearly 87,000 equivalent album units (down less than 1%).

With Karol G’s Mañana replacing SZA’s SOS at No. 1, it’s the first time a woman has replaced another woman atop the list in over a year. It last happened when a trio of leading ladies traded off the top spot from Nov. 20, 2021-Dec. 4, 2021. Summer Walker’s Still Over It debuted at No. 1 on the on Nov. 20 chart, Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) then opened atop the list on Nov. 27, and Adele’s 30 bowed at No. 1 on the Dec. 4 chart.

Gorillaz score their sixth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as Cracker Island arrives at No. 3 with 64,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 48,500 (the top-selling album of the week, debuting at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 15,500 (equaling 20.39 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 500. The star-studded Cracker Island features guest turns from Bad Bunny, Beck, Bootie Brown, Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala and Thundercat, among others. The album was initially released on Feb. 24 as a 10-track standard edition across physical and streaming formats, along with an 11-track digital retail and streaming edition. On Feb. 27, a 15-track digital and streaming deluxe version was released, including bonus tunes with De La Soul and Del the Funky Homosapien.

Cracker Island was preceded by a pair of top 20-charting hits on the Alternative Airplay chart – the title track, featuring Thundercat (No. 2), and “New Gold,” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown (with the latter rising to a new high of No. 16 on the most recently published chart, dated March 11).

Rapper Yeat logs his third top 10 on the Billboard 200 as AfterLyfe debuts at No. 4 with nearly 55,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise the vast majority – about 54,500 (equaling 78.42 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks).

Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights falls 3-5 with just over 48,000 equivalent album units (down 10%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album dips 5-6 with nearly 46,000 units (up 5%) and Metro Boomin’s former leader Heroes & Villains falls 4-7 with 42,000 units (down 10%).

Don Toliver notches his third top 10 on the Billboard 200 as Love Sick starts at No. 8 with 40,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 39,500 (equaling 51.23 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise nearly 1,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album was initially released as a 16-track standard set on Feb. 24. On Feb. 28, a deluxe edition of the album with four additional tracks (including one featuring Travis Scott) was released.

The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy climbs back to the top 10 for the first time since 2017 (its release year), as the set steps 14-9 with just over 40,000 equivalent album units earned (up 73%). The album’s rise comes following the Feb. 24 release of a new Ariana Grande-assisted remix of the set’s revived hit single “Die for You.”

Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti rounds out the new top 10, falling 6-10 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Morgan Wallen’s new album One Thing at a Time is off to a robust start in the United States. The country set’s 36 songs generated 101 million on-demand official audio streams in the U.S. on the album’s release day of March 3, according to initial reports to data tracking firm Luminate, whose information powers Billboard’s weekly charts.

For context, the largest U.S. streaming week for a country album is the first week of Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), which collected 303.23 million on-demand audio and video official streams for its 30 tracks (in its first week, ending Nov. 18, 2021). The second-largest streaming week for a country set is the debut frame of Wallen’s last album, Dangerous: The Double Album, which logged 240.18 million clicks for its 30 songs in its debut week, ending Jan. 14, 2021.

In addition, One Thing at a Time sold over 60,000 copies on its first day, mostly through digital album purchases. The set was issued only in three retail-available editions: a digital album (both clean and explicit) and a double-CD (explicit only). One Thing at a Time has yet to be released on vinyl, unlike Dangerous in its first week, when it sold 6,000 copies.

News of further initial sales and streaming-and-track-equivalent activity for One Thing at a Time, as provided by Luminate, will be reported in the coming days.

One Thing at a Time was preceded by the release of nine songs from the album, going back as far as April of 2022. Four of those tunes topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart: “Don’t Think Jesus,” “Thought You Should Know,” “You Proof” and “Last Night,” the lattermost of which has reigned for three weeks running (through the most recently published March 4-dated ranking).

One Thing at a Time is Wallen’s first album since Dangerous: The Double Album, which debuted atop both the Top Country Albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200. On the former, it has spent a record-breaking 96 weeks at No. 1, while on the latter, it racked up 10 weeks (all consecutive) on top. It also has notched 108 nonconsecutive weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 (through the most recently published list, dated March 4) – the most weeks in the region among any album by a single artist in the chart’s history.

Dangerous closed 2021 as the year-end No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, and the most popular album of the year in the U.S., as measured by equivalent album units by Luminate.

Luminate’s current tracking week ends at the close of business on Thursday, March 9. One Thing at a Time’s final first-week numbers are expected to be announced on Sunday, March 12, along with its debut position on the multimetric Billboard 200 albums chart (dated March 18). If One Thing at a Time debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it will mark Wallen’s second chart-topping set, following Dangerous.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

At Saturday’s (March 4) Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles emerged the night’s biggest music winners.

Swift was named favorite female artist and her Midnights (3am Edition) won for favorite album, while Styles was the favorite male artist and favorite global music star, while “As It Was” won favorite song. (And we can’t forget that Swift will also take a prize home to her cat Olivia Benson, who was named favorite celebrity pet.)

BTS won favorite musical group, Dove Cameron is favorite breakout artist, Bella Poarch is favorite social music star, and Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa‘s “Sweetest Pie” is favorite musical collaboration.

But music was just the tip of the iceberg. See the full winners list below:

Music

Favorite Song

  • “About Damn Time”- Lizzo
  • “Anti-Hero”- Taylor Swift
  • WINNER: “As It Was”- Harry Styles
  • “Bejeweled”- Taylor Swift
  • “Break My Soul” – Beyoncé
  • “First Class”- Jack Harlow
  • “I Ain’t Worried”- OneRepublic
  • “Lift Me Up”- Rihanna

Favorite Album

  • Dawn FM– The Weeknd
  • GOD DID – DJ Khaled
  • Harry’s House– Harry Styles
  • WINNER: Midnights (3am Edition)- Taylor Swift
  • Renaissance– Beyoncé
  • Special – Lizzo

Favorite Female Artist

  • Adele
  • Beyoncé
  • Billie Eilish
  • Cardi B
  • Lady Gaga
  • Lizzo
  • Rihanna
  • WINNER: Taylor Swift

Favorite Male Artist

  • Bad Bunny
  • Drake
  • Ed Sheeran
  • WINNER: Harry Styles
  • Justin Bieber
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • Post Malone
  • The Weeknd

Favorite Music Group

  • 5 Seconds of Summer
  • Black Eyed Peas
  • BLACKPINK
  • WINNER: BTS
  • Imagine Dragons
  • OneRepublic
  • Panic! At the Disco
  • Paramore

Favorite Music Collaboration

  • “Bam Bam”- Camila Cabello featuring Ed Sheeran
  • “Don’t You Worry” – Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta, Shakira
  • “I Like You (A Happier Song)”- Post Malone, featuring Doja Cat
  • “Numb”- Marshmello, featuring Khalid
  • “Stay With Me”- Calvin Harris, featuring Justin Timberlake, Halsey, Pharrell
  • WINNER: “Sweetest Pie”- Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa

Favorite Breakout Artist

  • Devon Cole
  • WINNER: Dove Cameron
  • GAYLE
  • Joji
  • Lauren Spencer-Smith
  • Nicky Youre

Favorite Global Music Star

  • Bad Bunny (Latin America)
  • BLACKPINK (Asia)
  • WINNER: Harry Styles (UK)
  • Rosalía (Europe)
  • Taylor Swift (North America)
  • Tones and I (Australia)
  • Wizkid (Africa)

Favorite Social Music Star

  • WINNER: Bella Poarch
  • Dixie D’Amelio
  • JoJo Siwa
  • Oliver Tree
  • Stephen Sanchez
  • That Girl Lay Lay

Film

Favorite Movie

  • Avatar: The Way of Water
  • Black Adam
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
  • Hocus Pocus 2
  • Jurassic World Dominion
  • Monster High The Movie
  • WINNER: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Top Gun: Maverick

Favorite Movie Actor

  • Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Thor: Love and Thunder)
  • Chris Pratt (Owen Grady, Jurassic World: Dominion)
  • WINNER: Dwayne Johnson (Black Adam/Teth-Adam, Black Adam)
  • Jim Carrey (Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
  • Ryan Reynolds (Big Adam, The Adam Project)
  • Tom Cruise (Capt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, Top Gun: Maverick)

Favorite Movie Actress

  • Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
  • Letitia Wright (Shuri, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
  • Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
  • WINNER: Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes 2)
  • Natalie Portman (Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor, Thor: Love and Thunder)
  • Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson, Hocus Pocus 2)

Favorite Animated Movie

  • DC League of Super-Pets
  • Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
  • Lightyear
  • WINNER: Minions: The Rise of Gru
  • The Bad Guys
  • Turning Red

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie (Male)

  • Andy Samberg (Dale, Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers)
  • Andy Samberg (Jonathan, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania)
  • Chris Evans (Buzz Lightyear, Lightyear)
  • WINNER: Dwayne Johnson (Krypto, DC League of Super-Pets)
  • Kevin Hart (Ace, DC League of Super-Pets)
  • Steve Carell (Gru, Minions: The Rise of Gru)

Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie (Female)

  • Awkwafina (Tarantula, The Bad Guys)
  • Keke Palmer (Izzy Hawthorne, Lightyear)
  • Salma Hayek (Kitty Softpaws, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)
  • Sandra Oh (Ming, Turning Red)
  • WINNER: Selena Gomez (Mavis, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania)
  • Taraji P. Henson (Belle Bottom, Minions: The Rise of Gru)

Television

Favorite Kids TV Show

  • Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Ghost Island
  • High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
  • Ms. Marvel
  • Raven’s Home
  • That Girl Lay Lay
  • WINNER: The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder
  • The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
  • The Really Loud House

Favorite Family TV Show

  • Cobra Kai
  • iCarly
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
  • Stranger Things
  • WINNER: Wednesday
  • Young Rock
  • Young Sheldon

Favorite Reality Show

  • America’s Funniest Home Videos
  • America’s Got Talent
  • American Ninja Warrior
  • Floor Is Lava
  • WINNER: MasterChef Junior
  • The Masked Singer

Favorite Animated Show

  • Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous
  • Rugrats
  • WINNER: SpongeBob SquarePants
  • Teen Titans Go!
  • The Loud House
  • The Smurfs

Favorite Female TV Star (Kids)

  • Audrey Grace Marshall (Vivian Turner, The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder)
  • Imogen Cohen (Zina, The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder)
  • WINNER: Olivia Rodrigo (Nini, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)
  • Raven-Symoné (Raven Baxter, Raven’s Home)
  • Sofia Wylie (Gina, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)
  • That Girl Lay Lay (Lay Lay, That Girl Lay Lay)

Favorite Male TV Star (Kids)

  • Brady Noon (Evan Morrow, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers)
  • Israel Johnson (Noah Lambert, Bunk’d)
  • WINNER: Joshua Bassett (Ricky, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)
  • Tyler Wladis (Roy, The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder)
  • Wolfgang Schaeffer (Lincoln Loud, The Really Loud House)
  • Young Dylan (Young Dylan, Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan)

Favorite Female TV Star (Family)

  • Hilary Duff (Sophie, How I Met Your Father)
  • WINNER: Jenna Ortega (Wednesday Addams, Wednesday)
  • Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven, Stranger Things)
  • Miranda Cosgrove (Carly Shay, iCarly)
  • Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield, Stranger Things)
  • Tracee Ellis Ross (Bow Johnson, Black-ish)

Favorite Male TV Star (Family)

  • Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair, Stranger Things)
  • Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan-Kenobi)
  • WINNER: Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things)
  • Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson, Stranger Things)
  • Jerry Trainor (Spencer Shay, iCarly)
  • Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso, Cobra Kai)

Other Categories

Favorite Male Creator

  • Austin Creed
  • WINNER: MrBeast
  • Ninja
  • Ryan’s World
  • SeanDoesMagic
  • Unspeakable

Favorite Female Creator

  • Addison Rae
  • WINNER: Charli D’Amelio
  • Dixie D’Amelio
  • Gracie’s Corner
  • Kids Diana Show
  • Miranda Sings

Favorite Social Media Family

  • FGTeeV
  • WINNER: Ninja Kidz TV
  • Ohana Adventure Family
  • The Bucket List Family
  • The Royalty Family
  • The Williams Family

Favorite Female Sports Star

  • Candace Parker
  • Chloe Kim
  • Naomi Osaka
  • WINNER: Serena Williams
  • Simone Biles
  • Venus Williams

Favorite Male Sports Star

  • WINNER: LeBron James
  • Lionel Messi
  • Patrick Mahomes
  • Shaun White
  • Stephen Curry
  • Tom Brady

Favorite Celebrity Pet

  • Dodger Evans
  • Gino Chopra Jonas
  • Noon Coleman
  • WINNER: Olivia Benson Swift
  • Piggy Lou Bieber
  • Toulouse Grande

Favorite Book

  • Cat Kid Comic Club Book Series
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Series
  • Five Nights at Freddy’s Book Series
  • WINNER: Harry Potter Book Series
  • The Adventures of Captain Underpants Books Series
  • The Bad Guys Book Series

Favorite Video Game

  • Adopt Me!
  • Brookhaven
  • Just Dance 2023
  • Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
  • WINNER: Minecraft
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Morgan Wallen‘s new album, One Thing at a Time, is already breaking streaming records in its first day of release.

With 52.29 million streams on Friday (March 3), according to Spotify, the country star’s 36-song project has set the record as the service’s most-streamed country album in a single day by a male artist.

Wallen’s One Thing at a Time has also had the largest streaming debut of any genre in 2023 so far on Spotify.

Related

On release day, Morgan was the most streamed artist of the day in the U.S. and globally on Spotify.

Spotify additionally tells Billboard that on Saturday (March 4), 31 songs from the album are in Spotify’s Top 50 U.S. chart, including “Last Night” at the No. 1 spot with 3,143,730 streams.

Spotify partnered with Wallen to celebrate One Thing at a Time at the hitmaker’s high school, Gibbs High School in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thursday. Wallen surprised students with a concert on the school’s baseball field, featuring several songs from his new project. The students were treated to Wallen’s favorite concessions, plus a photo booth that transformed snaps into exclusive baseball cards, courtesy of Spotify.

Wallen presented the school’s principal with a check for $35,000 from the Morgan Wallen Foundation to go toward performing arts and sports programs.

Morgan’s previous album, the 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album, was released in 2021 and still remains in the Billboard 200’s top five.

Jennifer Lopez has nothing but praise for Kim Petras, this year’s honoree of the Chartbreaker Award at the 2023 Women in Music event.

Petras took the stage at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday (March 1) to accept the honor. On Saturday, Lopez shared a clip of Petras’ speech at the event with a message of congratulations.

“Congrats @kimpetras !!! You are the moment #WomensHistoryMonth @billboard #WomenInEntertainment,” Lopez tweeted.

Related

The dance-pop singer-songwriter performed “brrr” at Women in Music before accepting the Chartbreaker Award. Republic co-president Wendy Goldstein, who signed Petras in 2021, hailed the star as the first transgender woman to be honored at the Billboard Women in Music Awards.

“Growing up I would question what rooms I would be put into and what boxes I would be put into — and I’m grateful it’s this one,” Petras said onstage.

“People should be able to decide what to do with their bodies to reach true equality,” she said to applause. “It’s very important.”

See J. Lo’s tweet below.

Nicki Minaj is officially launching her own record label.

The superstar rapper announced the big news during her Queen Radio show on Friday (March 3), revealing that the new label’s artist roster includes Nana Fofie, Tate Kobang, Rico Danna and London Hill.

Related

“I have a record label now,” Minaj said, teasing that the company’s name will be revealed at a later date. “When I get behind an artist, y’all know how I do s— for people that’s not even signed to me. Imagine what I’ma do for the ones that’s signed.”

Minaj said that her longtime affiliate Patty Lauren (aka Patty Duke) will serve in an A&R role at the new label.

The Queen of Rap’s first single of 2023, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” dropped Friday through Young Money/Republic. It marks her first solo song since last year’s Billboard Hot 100-topping smash “Super Freaky Girl.”

On Friday’s Queen Radio show, Minaj told listeners that she was texting with Republic Records co-president Wendy Goldstein, who was encouraging her to make the label announcement during the program.

“I said, ‘Wendy, we got to do this big. I’m a female; you a female, mamma. You got to do this right. We gotta do it right. I don’t want no little itty-bitty ting ting. I want to do it right,’” the rapper said.

Minaj added that her new record label will feature a variety of musical acts. “Don’t think my label is just rap, or Black, or anything,” she said. “We got some other genres of music.”

Minaj also touched on the influential role Lil Wayne played early in her career, and how she hopes to do the same for up-and-coming artists on her label.

“When I came in this game I didn’t have no paperwork with Lil Wayne. But he had us on tour, he had us in a studio, he was getting on my mixtapes,” she said. “So I understand the importance of having somebody else doing the heavy lifting for you. I understand why people are coming out and they’re so, you know, microwaveable and they’re here today and gone tomorrow, because there’s no structure. There’s no real person that believes in them. That’s like, ‘Nah, I’m gonna make it my business to see you shine.’”

Listen to a replay of Queen Radio through Amp, and check out in-studio photos from Friday’s show on Minaj’s Instagram below.

Police sharpshooters shot and killed a man in a South Miami-Dade apartment complex early Friday morning, about six hours after they say he “randomly” shot and killed another man who … Click to Continue »
Republican Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Friday that he was still considering a run for president but indicated that time was running out for him to make a final decision. … Click to Continue »