In 2022, Lili Théodora Mbangayo Mujinga, her real name, gave herself one year to make a living, even modestly, from her art.
 
Born in Switzerland and having spent time in Greece, of which she retains few memories, she was moved from city to city as her father resumed his studies later in life, pursuing his ambition of becoming a doctor. Saint-Jean-d’Angély, Rennes and finally Saint-Denis, where a foundational track was born: “Le paradis se trouve dans le 93” (“Paradise Is in the 93”).

Her first breakthrough with a wider audience, the song simply allowed her to keep singing. A definitive goodbye to her studies followed, having never completed her first year in a D1 law-and-economics preparatory program. Her early EPs—Neptune, Lili Aux Paradis Artificiels and Lili Aux Paradis Artificiels: Tome 2— laid the groundwork for a hybrid pop sound infused with Afro-Caribbean influences.

Less than a year later, she released “KONGOLESE SOUS BBL.” The blend of bouyon rhythms and unapologetic imagery caught attention, sparked debate, and propelled its creator forward. Two months after its release, the track entered the France Top Singles chart, climbing as high as No. 10.

What initially appeared to be just another viral trend in charts increasingly shaped by short-form video content was, in fact, laying the groundwork for BAD BOY LOVESTORY, the backbone of the singer’s success.

Released on Nov. 1, 2024, the 13-track project posted a modest first week, debuting at No. 119 on the Top Albums chart with 563 equivalent album units, a figure largely driven by the success of “KONGOLESE SOUS BBL.” Thirteen months later, reissued as MEGA BBL after a May re-release, the project now ranks among the four biggest successes of the year in France.

Beyond her own releases, Theodora has also become a secret weapon on other artists’ records. “melodrama,” her collaboration with disiz, has topped sales charts for more than two months. According to Luminate data consulted by Billboard France, she is now the most-streamed francophone female artist in the country in 2025, having climbed the rankings step by step since January.

The Genesis

Before music, her first passion was judo, a discipline that took her as far as the French national championships. “It was a version of myself that wasn’t possible,” she recalls.

“I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which causes hormonal and physical disorders. In judo, there’s this notion of weight. I was never at the right weight, always too light or too heavy. It made me terribly unhappy because it blocked my progression and I couldn’t control it. I’d show up to competitions four kilos underweight, compensating by drinking massive amounts of water, but I would faint during warm-ups and vomit the water I’d drunk. Ten minutes later, I was fighting.”

After graduating high school, she enrolled in a law-and-economics preparatory program, which she soon abandoned to focus on music. “I often see people using a classist argument to defend me by pointing to that prep school, but… I never finished it. I did what—one year? Not even, more like six months. And yet that doesn’t take away my credibility in so many other areas.”

A Political Artist?

When Jordan Bardella, one of the leading figures of France’s far-right Rassemblement National party, used one of her songs on social media, the singer did not hesitate to publicly call him out.

“When you become famous, your words carry weight,” she explains. “Sometimes our power also lies in relaying information, rather than speaking on issues we don’t fully master—issues that people work on every day.”

Some see her time on the Brittany Regional Youth Council—where she later became president of the culture commission—as a sign of political ambition. “It was more about opening the door to demands than about institutions,” she counters. “They wanted to teach us civic power, how much of a role we had to play in the future. I don’t know how many people who were there are right-wing today, but it must be very few.”

The constant moves of her youth have shaped both her writing and her public statements, as has her experience with racism, an issue she addresses head-on, particularly when discussing situations she has faced since her visibility increased.

“I feel like I’ve sensed it my whole life. And yet, even though I lived in really remote places, it’s today that I experience it the most. Recently, at an event, I was mistaken… not for another Black woman, but for a member of a Black man’s team. There were only two Black women at the entire event but even that was too much to remember.

“Not everyone is racist, that’s not the point. The reality, when you leave the Île-de-France region, is that many people don’t even interact with Black people and are full of preconceived ideas.

“But a lot of people feel like we’re stealing something, that visibility for us takes something away from others who would be more ‘French.’ But some of us are French too, and even when we’re not, we’re producing work in France that contributes to its soft power.”

A Family Creative Cocoon

Among the elements that resonate with French audiences is an artistic vision developed alongside her brother and composer, Jeez Suave. In a partnership some have compared to the Billie Eilish/Finneas duo, Theodora insists on avoiding compartmentalization.

“My older brother has always positioned himself as a protector—but not overprotective, more like a guide, and above all an explorer. There’s a respect for the other as a human being, not as a brother or sister. He’s truly my best friend. In work, we function exactly like in our private lives, except that we try to respect each other’s working time.”

At the end of 2024, the duo and their associates Noé Grieneisen and Paul Steiner founded BOSS LADY RECORDS, borrowing a catchphrase that has become inseparable from Theodora’s identity.

“Jeez, Noé, Paul, Youss, Mona…. Being together every day, 17 hours a day, I feel like we’ve known each other for years.”

Being a Black Woman in 2025’s France

In May, invited to La Seine Musicale for the Flammes awards ceremony, Theodora dedicated her win to “all the slightly weird Black girls.” Widely shared on social media, the message resonated with a new generation of listeners.

“They come up to me, they thank me. I didn’t think it would have that much impact—I hadn’t even prepared my speech! Alternative white women are accepted,” she explains. “We grew up watching them. But alternative Black women have always been made invisible, as if it were a mistake. I would have loved to see more alternative Black profiles, because it would have made me feel like it wasn’t crazy. It took me a very long time to be 100% alternative, and even today I sometimes worry that people won’t understand.”

On BAD BOY LOVESTORY, she paints a portrait of a confident, almost arrogant woman. This “boss lady” identity has become her calling card, an anthem chanted by audiences at every live show. Yet behind that façade, she places values of kindness and sisterhood at the center of a French music industry still largely dominated by male production.

“This industry isn’t anti-girls—it’s anti-women. It loves obedient little girls, dolls, but not women who come to claim what they’re owed. In a capitalist society, women are seen as a burden. She’s the one who gets pregnant at work, who has to be paid maternity leave, who’s assumed to work less, be less productive. And I think in music—which is ultimately a very capitalist industry—women aren’t liked because there’s only room for one. ‘The others, delete them. Let them not exist.’”

A New Era

With 2026 just days away, the artist says she is “preparing a new era” of her career. While the concept of an “era” is widespread among American pop stars—from Taylor Swift, who even named her latest tour the Eras Tour, to The Weeknd and Rihanna—it has never truly taken hold in France.

“It comes from show culture, from that desire to be a showgirl,” she explains. “At a certain point, when you carry a project with your whole body, you mark it in time. And when you move on, it has to be felt. As a huge Rihanna fan, for example, I loved watching her go through all her different eras. Everyone remembers the semi-shaved head, the rock phase, the red hair, the pop phase… I love that concept.”

France, Then the World?

On “MASOKO NA MABELE,” she collaborates with Nigerian-British producer Thisizlondon. One year after its release, Theodora performs the track along with “DO U WANNA ?” and “I WANNA” on NTS Radio. A sign of momentum beyond France?

“I didn’t wait for this moment to think about it,” she says. “Those ambitions were always there. And if they’ve become real, it’s because I was already carrying them inside me. Dreaming big, looking outward—that inevitably opens you up to influences and to a broader vision. Today, those ambitions are even stronger: I see that the international audience understands me, welcomes me—so why not?”

“The language barrier exists, that’s true. But every language also has something unique, things that can’t be translated. And that’s what makes them rich.”

First Tour

When offered a performance at the Olympia, the legendary 2,800-capacity Paris venue, the artist insisted on playing at the Zénith de Paris instead, which holds 7,000 people. In total, she announced four shows, all of which sold out within minutes.

Ahead of her tour, which kicks off on March 30, she says: “We really have the ambition of an American-style show: big stage, set pieces, everything. I think it’s going to be a major turning point in my career. It’s too spectacular not to be.”

“I want to become the best performer. For my first year, I went out with six dancers, which is already huge at my level. Now we’re moving into something bigger and more thought-out on every level, down to the makeup. We’re also trying to organize properly—physical training, vocal preparation—because music is a sport, and to be the best, you have to train.”

Support From the LGBT Community

Appearing on Drag Race France, Theodora formed a duo with Mami Watta. With its exuberance, the singer’s universe—she is openly LGBT herself—echoes many of the genre’s codes. She first discovered that world while working at La Gaîté Lyrique, where ballroom events were being held.

“It’s a world I really loved, at a time in my life when I was unknowingly closing in on myself. I met people who were truly there to express themselves and to unite. I think some of them felt an almost paternal need to help me. That’s why I feel close to that community—and I also have many LGBT people on my team.”

New Territories

“I think music reveals one side of me and allows others to exist,” Theodora concludes. “Unlike many other fields, when you make music, you can allow yourself many careers. It’s your responsibility not to be foolish and not to do things you’re bad at. But for now, it’s the field where I can most afford to be eclectic.”

Having walked the runway for designer Rohan Mirza during Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2026, she is now considering exploring “other forms of art.”

“I’m a very curious person. I don’t know if I’d talk about a ‘career’ in other fields—that’s a word you can only use after you’ve succeeded.”

This article originally appeared on Billboard France.

Addison Rae knows just as well as anyone in the industry that fame is a gun — especially when it comes to tensions between two well-known artists. And in a new interview with The Los Angeles Times published Thursday (Dec. 18), the TikTok star addressed one such rumored rivalry between her friend and collaborator Charli xcx and Taylor Swift.

When asked about the supposed beef between the two pop stars — who once hit the road together on Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018 — and whether she feels like she can avoid being pulled into discourse about “pop-girl rivalries,” Rae began by saying, “I guess we’ll have to see.”

“But there’s so much more to all these things,” she continued of whether she feels she “has to take a side” in the drama. “There are people that do weird things, and I try to avoid those people.”

Rae has long been friends with Charli, who was an early supporter of the social media phenom’s music career. The pair have collaborated on “2 Die 4” from Rae’s debut EP, AR, and on “Von Dutch” from Charli’s Brat remix album.

But while the British alt-pop pioneer and Swift have never publicly engaged with feud rumors, the speculation has been pretty much ongoing since Charli dropped Brat track “Sympathy Is a Knife,” on which she sings about feeling insecure in the presence of another woman in the industry. Some fans have perceived it as a diss track against Swift, whose The Life of a Showgirl song “Actually Romantic” has been interpreted as a response.

On the non-music front, some Charli fans have thought that Swift was purposefully trying to block Brat from the top of the charts in 2024 by releasing a limited U.K. version of The Tortured Poets Department. The Eras Tour headliner also used to date Matty Healy, who is in The 1975 with Charli’s husband, George Daniel.

“It doesn’t have to be a thing, but I get it — it’s entertaining,” Rae added to L.A. Times of artist rivalries in general. “Historically, there’s always been this friendly or maybe unfriendly competition between people. I think it’s a very natural human thing to want to exceed a standard that someone else has laid out. I’m not really interested it for myself.”

For the record, Charli has previously stuck up for Swift, telling off fans who chanted “Taylor Swift is dead” at the Brit’s show in Brazil in June 2024. And in August that year, the 14-time Grammy winner raved in a statement to Vulture: “I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade.”

As for the “weird things” Rae has experienced in her own career by way of social politics, she told the publication, “Well, you know, this can be behind the scenes as well — producers and drama in writing and ideas and back-end conversations.”

“On my record [Addison] with [producers] Luka and Elvira, we had worked with someone — or tried to include them in something — and then we didn’t really feel like it was necessary,” she continued. “No bad blood. Then all of a sudden, this person had gone and worked with someone else, and things were sounding similar. The timeline of it all was very confusing and interesting.”

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The 28th annual Family Film & TV Awards are almost here.

The show, which celebrates excellence in family-oriented film and television, will be available on CBS Saturday, Dec. 20, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET/PT. Julie Chen Moonves of Big Brother fame will be hosting the show, while Survivor host Jeff Probst will be honored during the ceremony, receiving the Icon Award in celebration of family-oriented film and television. The event will also include special performances by Billboard chart-topper Blake Shelton. The musician is a fan-favorite in the Country scene for songs like “Pour Me A Drink,” “River” and “Honey Bee.”

Some of this year’s nominees have long contributed to the family TV and film landscape, with big names such as Adam Sandler, Jamie Lee Curtis and Liam Neeson. You’ve also got popular films, including animated nominations, up for awards, such as The Naked Gun, Freakier Friday, 2025’s Lilo & Stitch, Superman, F1: The Movie and more. Some of the categories to watch this year will include favorite competition television series, favorite iconic family film, favorite classic television series and favorite actor in a feature film.

“Film and television have a wonderful way of bringing families together, whether you’re watching with your children, your grandchildren, or rediscovering stories you’ve loved for years. The best storytelling connects generations and reminds us of what truly matters. At Family Film & TV Awards, we’re proud to honor the programs that inspire, entertain and celebrate family in all its forms,” said Family Film & TV Awards co-chairperson and executive producer Laura McKenzie in a statement.

Ahead of the show, we’ll be showing you how to tune in for free, so you and your kids won’t miss out on any of the action.

Here’s How to Watch the 28th Annual Family Film & TV Awards

One of the many ways you can tune in to the award show is via DIRECTV. A standard subscription to DIRECTV, which gives you access to watch CBS, will run you just $49.99 a month for the first month right now under the service’s ENTERTAINMENT plan. If you’re unsure about committing to a new subscription, you can simply try the service out for free for five days, which will give you plenty of time to watch the show and cancel if you see fit.

If you do happen to keep your subscription after the five days, you’ll get access to live TV, local networks such as NBC, ABC and PBS, and you can also watch a slew of entertainment networks, including AMC, Bravo, E!, FX, FXX, Freeform, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime and Paramount Network. That’s more than 90-plus channels that you can tap into.

Another way to watch the awards show via CBS is on Fubo, which has a week-long free trial available here. This will give you plenty of time to watch the award show before the trial ends. If you do want to keep your subscription, Fubo’s package includes a free DVR so you record the broadcast to watch the show back on-demand. Continue with one of Fubo’s streaming deals or cancel before your free trial is up to avoid being charged. See details here.

You can also watch the family event via Paramount+’s Premium plan, a no ads plan which will run you $12.99 a month. Subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier, which will run you $7.99 a month, subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.

The streaming service also offers a seven-day free trial, which should give you plenty of time to watch the award show and cancel anytime after. If you do happen to keep your subscription, you’ll have access to a vast library of more than 40,000+ ad-free episodes and movies, including music-themed hits such as Love & Hip Hop: Miami, School of Rock, Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza and much more. Paramount+ Premium plan holders will also be able to stream the service on three devices at once, gain access to SHOWTIME® Originals, download movies and shows and Stream CBS live, with more sports and events.

Avicii’s estate is facing a lawsuit for allegedly suggesting in a Netflix documentary and two books that manager Ash Pournouri was a “manipulative slavedriver” who overworked the Swedish dance music icon and drove him to suicide in 2018.

Pournouri sued the Avicii estate on Tuesday (Dec. 16) in Stockholm District Court. The lawsuit, obtained by Billboard and translated from Swedish by the service DeepL, alleges the estate has violated the terms of a 2016 agreement that ended an eight-year professional relationship between Pournouri and the DJ (Tim Bergling).

According to Pournouri, this agreement barred Bergling and his heirs from publicly discussing Pournouri or disparaging the manager. But he says Bergling did just that in the 2017 Netflix documentary Avicii: True Stories, as did the DJ’s estate in two authorized biographies published after his 2018 death (2021’s Tim: The Official Biography of Avicii and 2024’s Avicii: The Life and Music of Tim Bergling).

“This has mainly been done by misrepresenting Arash Pournouri, among other things, as a person who ruthlessly pushed Tim Bergling to the limit and exploited his career for personal gain,” reads the translated lawsuit. “The image of Ash Pournouri portrayed in the documentary and books is completely inaccurate and amounts to character assassination.”

True Stories, which included participation from Bergling, chronicled the star’s career and eventual decision to separate from Pournouri and retire from touring in 2016. According to Pournouri’s lawsuit, Bergling falsely implied in documentary clips that Pournouri pressured him to keep working despite mental and physical health struggles.

“In fact,” Pournouri’s lawyers write, “Ash was very positive about Tim’s decision to stop touring and saw it as a much needed and welcome turning point.”

Pournouri also alleges that recordings of himself were featured in True Stories without consent or key context. There’s a clip, for example, of Pournouri speaking in Swedish with English subtitles reading, “Tim is going to die. With all the interviews, radio tours and everything, he’s going to fall down dead.”

Much has been made of this statement, given Bergling’s struggles and eventual suicide. But according to Pournouri, these subtitles are a mistranslation of the Swedish phrase “he will die,” which he says is a common idiom “used to convey excitement or intensity.”

Pournouri alleges that he was also portrayed falsely as overworking Bergling in both the 2021 and 2024 biographies. According to the lawsuit, the books were approved by the Bergling’s heirs and relied on interviews with Bergling’s friends and family, as well as documents supplied by the estate.

As a result of all this, Pournouri says, the public now believes an “absurd and false” narrative that he drove Bergling to his death. Pournouri alleges the opposite is true. The lawsuit says they had no contact for two years before the suicide, adding, “Ash Pournouri is convinced that Tim Bergling would not have committed suicide if Ash Pournouri had still been present in his life.”

Pournouri posted a lengthy statement on Instagram the day his lawsuit was filed. In the post, he said the goal of the case is to “correct an inaccurate and incomplete public narrative.”

“This is not an intent to attack. It’s just time to let the facts speak,” Pournouri wrote. “Although I have suffered considerable harm, any damages awarded go directly to real charitable causes. I take nothing personally. This is about the record, not profit.”

A rep for the Avicii estate did not immediately have a comment on the lawsuit.