Pooh Shiesty knew how important his first record back needed to be when he walked out of federal prison last October. After serving three years on firearms and drug charges, the Memphis rapper — Billboard’s first-ever Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month — wasted no time reasserting himself with the fiery comeback track “FDO.”

Peaking at No. 12 on the Hot 100 earlier this month, “FDO” (short for “First Day Out”) is a smash-mouth, no-holds-barred record. Like an uncaged pitbull, Shiesty blitzes the track with callous disregard, reminding fans exactly why he became one of rap’s most coveted prospects after erupting out of Memphis in 2021 with his Lil Durk-assisted club starter “Back in Blood.”

“I was just getting started when I got locked up,” Shiesty tells Billboard over Zoom. “I was only rapping for like a year in total. Before I even got signed, I ain’t learn everything that I needed to learn. I look at me when I got locked up versus when I got out — it’s totally different ways of rap. It’s only gonna get better and better.”

This week, “FDO” sits at No. 41 on the Hot 100, and is serving as the launching pad for Shiesty’s return to performance mode. In May, he’ll hit the Rolling Loud stage in Orlando alongside NBA YoungBoy, Playboi Carti and more big-name hitmakers.

Below, Billboard catches up with Shiesty to discuss the rigors of returning to the studio, the creation of “FDO,” what his first day out of prison entailed, and what’s next for him.

When you were writing in jail, is it true you were writing songs on toilet paper and T-shirts?

Yeah, whatever I can get my hand on. Sometimes, I ain’t have paper. Sometimes, I ain’t have pencils or pens. We had to make it work. 

How were you able to maintain your creative energy in prison on a day-to-day basis?

I stay motivated. I knew what was out there, and who I was before being in here. You can strip me away from everything and I’m still going to be him. So I just think [I] stayed motivated, focused and knew the end goals. I was always used to coming up with something and keeping my imagination going. 

You said your first day out of prison as one of the best moments in your life besides getting your first record deal. What was so special about that time?

Just everything. Walking out the door and never looking back. Knowing that this wasn’t my final destination, you know? There’s a lot of people who got stuck, caught up, f–ked up or done the worst way and couldn’t come back the same. Knowing I came back without a scratch on me, got my freedom back and walking out to see the sky with nothing blocked around me — no wall, cage or locked doors — felt good. I had the fantasy experience that motherf–kers wished for. I felt that way.

Did you feel any pressure to deliver on “FDO,” especially knowing you’re coming behind records that 2Pac, Gucci Mane and Tee Grizzley made famous?

I ain’t gonna say there was pressure — but with the greats having theirs, I had to come with it. Because if I’m gonna do it, it gotta be compared to the top. I knew I had to come with it. That’s when my confidence kicked in. I know who I am, I know how I talk it and walk it. It was easy — it just had to be done. I knocked it out and now it’s history. 

What was the recording process for “FDO” when you finally settled in and got home?

I had another song that I was doing. I never was gonna come out and name it “FDO,” “First Day Out,” or “Last Day In,” or something like that. It was going to be already different. The vibe I had at first, I was like, ‘Nah, my energy wasn’t all the way there. F–k it. Let’s do a ‘First Day Out’ [record]. Let’s do it this way. Let me turn up and get more aggressive.’” It did what it did. I chose that over the first one, but I kept the first song, too. It’s still good. It’s called “Last Scene.” That was gonna be the first original “First Day Out.” 

You’ve always had a certain level of aggression with rapping, which intensified on “FDO.” Where did that energy come from versus your previous records?

It’s different. I ain’t gon’ say that record versus “Last Scene,” I’mma say that record versus the last time y’all heard me. You gotta think about it, I was in jail more time than I was rapping. The times I was rapping versus the time I got out is way different. I talk way different. I got more lingo and got way more experience. I’m five years older. Faster, smarter, sober [and] wiser.

You’re been announced as one of the artists to perform at Rolling Loud this May. Are you already over the idea of possibly performing your hit “Back in Blood” knowing it was made before you went to prison?

Nah, pieces like that is timeless music. I was in my bag all the way. No matter how old or smarter I got, I was ahead of my time right there. You can play that forever, and it’s gonna do what it’s gonna do ,’cause it’s good work. I love the club. I know that motherf–ker gon’ rock. I can’t wait to play “FDO” in the club. I can’t wait to hear that. 

Where do you rank “FDO” in terms of “First Day Out” records? 

No. 1. It’s the highest-charting [song], highest capacity of popping s–t, [and] talking s–t. That’s how you do it. You’re supposed to take your time with this s–t. Do it slow, so you can do it some more. If you move fast, then you won’t really last. I believe in that and always preached that. We’re trying to be great. 

What was Gucci’s reaction to hearing your “FDO” record since he has one of his own?

He went crazy. He couldn’t believe it. 

You and GloRilla were in the studio together recently. How was that session?

That’s my dog. I’ve been f–king with Glo for a minute, so it was just like we can’t wait to see each other to get that chemistry up and build that bond. We have a lot of sh-t in common. We moving like we’re relatable. Sh-t perfect. She’s like a little female version of me. She hard. I f–k with Glo tough. 

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What does a Pooh Shiesty debut album sound like? 

Greatness. We’re getting this production up. We’re making this s–t be A-1. We’re having a whole lot of substance and quality to this s–t now. We ain’t just freestyling no more. The rookie season is over with. It’s time for the max. You gotta look at this sh-t like basketball, sometimes. It’s time to pop. S–t is going number one. You can see us doing another interview again. Popping it, man. That’s all I know. 

I’m gonna call you Supermax Pooh.

Super Max Shiesty. You onto something with that one.

  

This podcast episode is part of the Billboard editorial staff’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 list. Find our accompanying Lady Gaga essay here, and all the rest of our essays and podcasts related to the list here.

Lady Gaga gave fans everything they could have asked from her in 2025: a satisfying new album with a dazzling advance single, a new arena tour massive in both its artistic scale and its commercial success, and hundreds of Classic Gaga moments in between. She launched an old-school press and media blitz, appeared at seemingly every award show and big cultural event, and headlined some of the year’s hugest concerts. Basically, she showed the kids how it’s done — with “kids” by this point in her 17-year pop career also including a totally new generation of stars, several of whom now explicitly look up to Gaga as the model for pop stardom exemplified at its highest levels.

This Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast looks at how Lady Gaga ended up at No. 3 on our list — thanks to a year where she reminded everyone, particularly the longtime Little Monsters, why she’s one of the best to ever do it. (You can find Katie Atkinson’s essay on Lamar’s stunning sequel year here.) Today, Billboard charts senior analyst/writer Eric Frankenberg joins host Andrew Unterberger to relive Lady Gaga’s jam-packed 2025, and dive deep into whether she not only confirmed the greatness of her legacy this year, but also proved she could still be as big and as impactful as this current generation of pop leading lights.

Over the course of our extended discussion, we also ask all the most pressing questions about Lady Gaga’s 2025: What makes “Abracadabra” more than just a rehashing of past glories? How the hell did “Judas” become the most-streamed Born This Way song on Spotify? Did Coachella, Rio and the Mayhem Ball take her to her highest heights yet as a live performer? Was her Harlequin: One Night Only HBO special secretly the highlight of her year? Will her 2026 be about her tying the knot with fiancé Michael Polansky (and will she perform at the wedding)? How will she fare at the Grammys this upcoming weekend? And perhaps most importantly: How different, if at all, would Gaga’s career (or pop music in general) be moving forward if her 2025 had never happened?

Check it out above, along with a YouTube playlist of some of the greatest moments of Lady Gaga’s 2025 — all of which are discussed on the pod — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for complete podcast coverage of this year’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 list!

And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:

Transgender Law Center

Trans Lifeline

Destination Tomorrow

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.

Last October, Garbage singer Shirley Manson said that at this point in their three-decade career it doesn’t feel feasible for the group to mount another extensive headlining North American tour. “It has become entirely unsustainable for a band like us to come and tour anywhere except the coasts,” Manson told fans at Denver’s Mission Ballroom during a show on their aptly named Happy Endings tour.

Manson lamented at the time when “most of the music industry” is not comprised of mega pop stars making “billions and billions” of dollars, but rather working musicians grinding it out, sleeping in vans and working multiple jobs to afford hitting the road it’s getting harder to justify the expense of a traditional coast-to-coast tour.

Billboard caught up with drummer/producer Butch Vig this month and he offered some clarity on what touring might look like in the future for the group — which also includes bassist/guitarist Duke Erikson and guitarist/keyboardist Steve Marker — and what they are cooking up for their follow-up to last year’s Let All That We Imagine Be the Light studio album.

“Shirley was referring to us not doing 60-show a headlining tour like we did last year, which is a lot for us,” said Vig, 70. “The grind of traveling wears you down and it’s more expensive to put on the kind of shows we put on, so we won’t tour like that anymore.”

That doesn’t mean the “Only Happy When It Rains” band is saying no more live shows at all. In fact, this week they added three more dates to their 2025 U.K./European tour, at Stockholm’s Grona Lund Tivoli (June 3), London’s Roundhouse (July 14), and Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens (July 18). Those shows join a roster of 23 gigs lined up for this spring/summer across Europe, a mix of festival stops and headlining concerts.

Before the new shows announced, Vig joked, “Boise, I love you, but I’m not sure we’ll be back,” adding that singer Manson was in “peak form” at the moment and, “we are already talking about shows in Europe next summer… it’s easy to do festival runs.”

Vig, who just finished producing the next album by Silversun Pickups and a “weird, abrasive” synth-focused soundtrack for the upcoming “nasty” home invasion horror film The Third Parent, also gave a sneak peek at some ideas Garbage is kicking around for their as-yet-untitled ninth studio album.

He said they’ve been talking about starting work on the LP in the fall and possibly doing some “stripped down” shows with an orchestra, or residency runs in Los Angeles or Berlin, as they work out the new songs. “We’re thinking about taking that approach as we work on the new songs and try to put a show together that’s different from a full-on rock show,” he said.

And while they’re just starting the writing process and it’s not clear yet if the orchestral bit will make it onto the final product, Vig said he was inspired by a gig Garbage did in 2002 to mark the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise, The Sound of 007 in Concert.

Vig sat in on drums for his band’s 1999 Bond theme song “The World Is Not Enough” at the show that was curated by five-time Bond composer David Arnold and also featured Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, as well as Bond theme singers Lulu and Shirley Bassey.

“We got to play with Hans Zimmer and an orchestra at [London’s] Royal Albert Hall and it was incredible,” Vig recalled. “My drums were in front, right next to Hans Zimmer and the orchestra was right behind me. It was hair-raising, and we only did the one song, but the good thing is we got to rehearse it five or six times that afternoon during soundcheck. And I was like, ‘can we just keep playing this?’ It’s so fun. The power of that many musicians… so it’s something we’re tinkering with with Garbage and we’d like to approach that possibly during next touring cycle.”

Garbage will kick off their 2026 run of shows on March 7 with a headlining slot at the Isle of Light festival in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where they’ll be joined by Cazzu, Mon Laferte, Sofi Tukker and Bob Moses, among others.

Harry Styles is keeping the dance party going at Wembley Stadium, and it hasn’t even started yet. Just one day after extending his previously scheduled summer stay at the massive London venue, the pop star added even more shows to the mini-residency — and by the time they wrap, he’ll have broken Coldplay’s all-time record there.

As announced Wednesday (Jan. 28), Styles will now play a total of 12 dates at Wembley, adding performances on July 3 and 4. Originally, the Brit had set out to play just six before tacking on four more on Tuesday (Jan. 27).

Now, with the addition of two extra performances, the One Direction alum is positioned to play more shows in one year at Wembley than any other act in history, a record previously held by Chris Martin and his band for their 10-night stay last summer. Taylor Swift’s prior record of playing the most Wembley shows in a year for a soloist — which she achieved in 2024 with eight concerts while on her Eras Tour — will also be ceded to Styles.

“We are incredibly proud to welcome Harry Styles back to Wembley Stadium for what will be a truly historic run of shows,” a spokesperson for the venue said in a statement. “The 12 nights will be among the most special in our stadium’s long history.”

Though already breaking records, the Grammy winner’s Wembley run will make up just one stretch of his global Together, Together residency, which will support Styles’ upcoming fourth solo album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The trek will kick off in Amsterdam on May 16 — about a month and a half after the LP drops — and take Styles through Brazil, Mexico, Australia and the United States, where he’ll set up shop for 30 concerts at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

See the updated list of Styles’ tour dates below.