Two people were shot Friday night, one fatally, as a relatively calm and peaceful spring break in Miami Beach was rattled by gunfire for a second straight year. Miami Beach … Click to Continue »
“Kelsea Ballerini is all of us,” fans commented on TikTok this weekend, when the country singer stopped her show to ask if anyone was keeping tabs on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour on Saturday night (March 17) — while Ballerini was in the middle of her own performance.
“Can I just level with you for a minute?” Ballerini asked an Atlantic City, New Jersey, crowd. “Is anyone stalking The Eras Tour? Has it started?”
“I’m gonna stalk it after this,” she promised, “but I have one question. Is ‘Cruel Summer’ on the setlist?”
Fans of both artists — who must’ve had one eye on Ballerini’s stage and one eye on their phones, watching for live updates from Swift’s tour kickoff — delivered the good news: “Cruel Summer” is finally getting its time to shine on The Eras Tour. The Lover favorite had never before been publicly performed live by Swift, who last toured before the album was released. Swift debuted the song live at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“Wow,” Ballerini said in celebration. “That’s my Super Bowl, I gotta be honest.”
Billboard‘s review of the show notes that “Cruel Summer” got “the full, stadium-show treatment, complete with a raised platform, backup dancers and Swift unveiling a diamond-encrusted one-piece with matching tall boots. For both the fans in attendance and Swift herself, the song seemed to represent an exhalation — this tour was finally happening, and this immaculate song, three-and-a-half years old at this point, was finally being performed.”
Watch Ballerini’s “Cruel Summer” check-in via TikTok.
Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour set list features a surprise song, so far performed during a mini acoustic set, on each date of the the superstar’s 2023 trek.
Guitar in hand and making her way to the end of the stage’s catwalk at March 17’s Eras kickoff in Glendale, Arizona, Swift revealed her intentions for the acoustic portion of her long-awaited live show. She’ll perform a surprise song that will not be played again on this tour — probably.
“The plan, the goal, would be to play different songs every single night and never repeat one. Right? So that when you heard one on this tour, you would know it’s the only time that I was going to play it in the acoustic set, unless — caveat — unless I mess it up so badly,” she said with a small laugh, “that I have to do it over again in some other city. Send your best wishes towards me that I don’t do that.”
The Eras Tour is her first real tour in five years, and the first time the prolific songwriter is getting to perform selections from Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights to sold-out stadium crowds.
Eras Tour night one introduced a career-spanning, whopping 44-song setlist with a runtime of more than three hours, with Swift playing anywhere from one to eight tracks from all 10 of her full-length studio albums. The show’s nightly secret song is sure to keep her fans on their tallest tiptoes, waiting to hear what gem will be unveiled at their concert.
Below, check out the list of all the surprise songs she’s brought to The Eras Tour, courtesy of social media live streams and post-concert clips uploaded by Swifties in attendance. Bookmark this page, as the list will updated regularly as the tour goes on.
Never ones to shy away from being bold, Doritos® presented Billboard’s THE STAGE this past Thursday, which included a riveting lineup of hip-hop talents delivering stellar performances at the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park. While enjoying some of the hottest sounds in music today, attendees were also able to sample their favorite food leveled up with Doritos®️ Dips, available in Cool Ranch®️ Jalapeno and Spicy Nacho, and new Doritos® Sweet & Tangy BBQ flavored chips.
Later that night, in a triangle-inspired takeover, Doritos®️ gave fans and SXSW® pass holders another chance to transform late night dining with an exclusive after hours food experience; Doritos®️ After Dark™ at Billboard House. Doritos®️ After Dark™ led fans into a new world of Doritos® after-hours eats with globally inspired bites including fan favorites like Doritos®️ Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Bites and Austin exclusives, Doritos® BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos and Doritos® Flamin’ Hot® Limon Margarita Cheesecake. With plenty of culinary options to enjoy, fans explored the world of flavor and experienced a rare all vinyl DJ set and performance from DJ Pee .Wee (aka Anderson .Paak)!
Relive the magic and ‘Taste The Night’ again with Doritos®️ and Billboard at SXSW® 2023 with all the pictures below and don’t forget to kick it with Doritos®️ and Doritos®️ Dips all year long.
Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, an original member of Parliament-Funkadelic, has died. He was 81.
P-Funk frontman/producer George Clinton announced the singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s death through social media on Friday (March 17). A cause of death was not provided.
“We are saddened to announce the passing of an original Parliament Funkadelic member Clarence Eugene ‘Fuzzy’ Haskins (born June 8, 1941-March 17th, 2023),” Clinton wrote on Instagram alongside photos of Haskins. He added in a Facebook post, “Give up the Fuzz, Fly on.”
Former Parliament-Funkadelic member Bootsy Collins also paid tribute to his former bandmate on Twitter.
“Prayer’s going out to Clarence ‘Fuzzys’ Haskins family & friends. We lost his frequency today 3-17- 23,” Collins wrote on Friday. “He was an original Parliament/Funkadelic inducted in the RHOF. We will miss u my friend, bandmate & Soul brother! Thx u for ur guidance in my pup year’s. Bootsy baby!!”
Born in 1941 in West Virginia, Haskins was a member of the Gel-Airs before joining group originally known as the Parliaments, first formed in the 1960s as a doo-wop quintet with Clinton, Calvin Simon, Grady Thomas and Ray Davis. The group that later became known as Parliament-Funkadelic.
Haskins is credited for his contributions to P-Funk tracks like “I Got a Thing” and “I Wanna Know If It’s Good to You,” according to a post about Haskins on Clinton’s website.
“He was a good drummer as well, as he proved on ‘Can You Get to That,’ which he also co-wrote,” Clinton’s site says. “Some of Fuzzy’s best vocals appeared on Funkadelic’s 1972 LP America Eats Its Young, most notably on ‘Ms Lucifers Love.’ But singing wasn’t the only thing that Fuzzy brought to P-Funk. He was known, during live P-Funk shows, to don skin-tight bodysuits and gyrate against the microphone pole as he whipped the crowd into a frenzy, especially when they performed ‘Standing on the Verge of Getting it On.’”
Haskins remained a full-time member of P-Funk through the late 1970s. He released his first solo album, A Whole Nother Thang, in 1976 through Westbound Records. The set featured collaborations with Bernie Worrell, Donald Austin and Collins. Haskins dropped his second solo album, Radio Active, in 1978.
Haskins briefly rejoined Parliament-Funkadelic for the group’s P-Funk Live Earth Tour in 1977 before leaving the group again for good. “By this time, he claimed he was through with singing all the ole dirty songs and began studying the Lord’s Word,” Clinton’s site says.
In 1981, Haskins joined former P-Funk members Simon, Davis and Thomas to release the Connections & Disconnections album under the Funkadelic name, which prompted a lawsuit by Clinton. In his later years, Haskins became a preacher and recorded gospel music.
Along with other members of Parliament-Funkadelic, Haskins was inducted by Prince into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
“Funk is a force that tore the roof off the sucker that is modern music,” Prince said in their Rock Hall introduction.
Clinton and the other members of Parliament-Funkadelic received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2019.
Taylor Swift fans are celebrating the opening night of the pop superstar’s highly-anticipated Eras tour.
During the career-spanning concert at Glendale, Ariz.’s State Farm Stadium on Friday (March 17), Swift performed a whopping 44 songs from her 10 studio albums. The stadium trek marks Swift’s first proper tour in five years, thanks primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now THAT is how you put on a show, taylor swift you are insane,” one fan tweeted alongside a photo collage of Swift’s numerous outfit changes during the show.
The 3-hour-and-15-minute show found Swift traveling through each of her eras one by one, showcasing the four original studio albums — Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights — she’s recorded since her 2018 Reputation tour. The singer also performed her beloved hits, including “You Belong With Me” and “Shake It Off.” Read Billboard‘s “13 Best Moments” from the tour’s opening night here.
Swifties took to social media before, during and after the Eras tour launch on Friday, sharing dazzling photos and majestic videos of the concert’s impressive production. “The aesthetics of #TSTheErasTour are INSANE,” a fan wrote on Twitter alongside snapshots of the spectacular set-pieces. Another Swiftie added, “That was the show that just kept giving oh my GOD.”
Some attendees even wondered if the experience was real or a figment of their imagination. “Good morning i think last night i was at a taylor swift concert, was i? #TSTheErasTour,” they tweeted.
The Eras tour continues on Saturday (March 18) with a second show in Glendale, Ariz., which has temporarily been renamed Swift City in honor of the artist’s arrival. Support on the trek features a rotating cast of opening acts, including Paramore, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, Muna, Haim, Gayle, Gracie Abrams and Owenn.
See some of the best fan reactions to the opening night of Swift’s Eras tour below.
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