By the time Ella Langley’s second album, Dandelion, arrived April 10, the country star had already made chart history several times over — and symbolized the commercial boom that country music has experienced in the 2020s. All decade long, artists like Langley, Morgan Wallen and Megan Moroney have been smashing records and spilling over onto the pop charts, yielding one of country music’s most culturally significant eras.

In February, for example, Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” accomplished an unpredecented hat trick, making her the first woman to concurrently hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. By March, she and Moroney became the first women who primarily record country music to simultaneously top the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 (with Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and Moroney’s Cloud 9, ­respectively). As Langley told Billboard in April, “Every day I wake up, it’s like something more insane has happened.”

Upon its release, Dandelion debuted atop the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums, making Langley one of just eight women to launch an album on the latter chart with at least 100,000 weekly units. And of those eight, two others also released albums this year: Moroney’s Cloud 9 and Kacey Musgraves’ Middle of Nowhere (joining Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain). Since Dandelion arrived, it has remained No. 1 on Top Country Albums, setting a modern-era record (referring to 2017 onward) for the chart as the first album by a woman to earn 100,000-plus units for five consecutive weeks.

All the while, Langley has maintained her reign atop Hot Country Songs and the Hot 100, with “Choosin’ Texas” ruling for 26 weeks on the former (through May 30) and 10 weeks on the latter (through May 23). More history has followed: As “Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her” held at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Hot 100, Langley became the first artist known for primarily recording country music in the chart’s 67-year history to simultaneously occupy the list’s top two spots for multiple weeks (May 6 and 23). The last country artist to come close? Wallen pulled it off for one week in May 2025.

Wallen has, without a doubt, led the charge for country music’s record-shattering run. The 2021 release of his Dangerous: The Double Album set things in motion by spending a record 97 weeks at No. 1 on Top Country Albums. He dethroned himself with his 2023 set, One Thing at a Time, which topped the list for a second-place 87 weeks, and he continued his historic run with 2025’s I’m the Problem, which set a then-weekly record of 37 Hot 100 entries (he once again replaced himself, as he held the previous record at 36).

Wallen’s rise runs parallel to country’s rising streaming numbers. The genre hit a new high in the United States at the start of 2020 with a record 1.24 billion on-­demand audio streams of its songs, according to Luminate. By 2023, country had become the fastest-­growing U.S. format for on-demand audio streaming. And in the first six months of 2025, country was the most common genre in the Hot 100’s top 10, claiming 29% of all top 10 hits, according to Hit Songs Deconstructed.

This decade, so far, the genre has also become more diverse: In April 2024, Shaboozey and Beyoncé made history on Hot Country Songs when the former’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” replaced the latter’s “Texas Hold ’Em” at No. 1, marking the first time two Black artists led the ranking back-to-back. And they continued to break chart records throughout the year. When Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, it was the first time a Black woman led the list. By the year’s end, “A Bar Song” tied for the then-longest-reigning Hot 100 chart-­topper when it hit its 19th week at No. 1 in November (matching Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus).

They weren’t the only ones new to the genre to make history: In February 2024, former Christian artist Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” tied Wallen for a record 10 weeks at No. 1 on Country Airplay; rap-rocker-turned-country star Jelly Roll became the only soloist with at least four songs to hit No. 1 on Country Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay; and ­newcomer Oliver Anthony became the first artist to debut atop the Hot 100 — with his viral “Rich Men North of Richmond” — without previously appearing on any Billboard ranking. Plus, three icons made history this decade as well: In 2023, Luke Combs became the only artist to place two titles with no billed collaborators in the top two on Country Airplay simultaneously (“Love You Anyway” and “Fast Car”) — and he did it again this April with “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” and “Days Like These”; “Fast Car” also helped Tracy Chapman make history, as she became the first Black woman to have solely penned a Country Airplay No. 1; and country legend Dolly Parton made personal history when her 2023 album, Rockstar, marked her career-best on the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 3. And with such rising stars as Alexandra Kay, Carter Faith and Stella Lefty making strides of their own, women in country are poised to dominate the latter half of the decade.

“Seeing women at the top of the charts together is incredible,” Langley recently told Billboard. “It’s a testament to the stories we’re telling and how they’re resonating with fans.”

Lainey Wilson — who made her own chart history in 2023, accomplishing the fastest return by a woman to No. 1 on Country Airplay when her collaboration “Save Me” with Jelly Roll topped the tally just six weeks after her single “Watermelon Moonshine” — shares Langley’s sentiment. As she told Billboard in April at Women in Music, where she presented Langley with the Powerhouse honor, “I’ve been telling the boys for a long time, ‘Y’all ain’t seen nothing.’ And that’s exactly what’s happening right now. These girls are making history and doing things that we didn’t even know could happen.” 

Additional reporting by Russ Penuell.

This story appears in the May 30, 2026, issue of Billboard.

Barry Manilow recently sat down with Good Morning America to give an update on his battle against Stage 1 lung cancer, telling interviewer Chris Connelly, “I’m doing good.” Manilow, 82, revealed his diagnosis in December and underwent surgery to remove a cancerous spot from his left lung later that month.

He subsequently pushed back his planned February Las Vegas residency dates, then his February, March and April arena shows on doctor’s advice that he needed more time to recover.

“It took longer than I thought it was going to take to get past this lung cancer thing,” Manilow told Connelly about his recuperation. “I didn’t know about pneumonia. I was in [the] ICU for seven days because they couldn’t grasp this pneumonia that was just about killing me,” the singer added in the preview of the interview that will run in full on GMA on Monday (June 1).

In a social post in December revealing his diagnosis, Manilow wrote, “As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks. Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK. The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early. That’s the good news.”

After previously pushing back his Vegas residency dates, Manilow again postponed his planned May shows as he continues to recover. In an Instagram Story on May 1, he said, “Good news! I went to the doctor yesterday and he said I’m making great progress and look great! All the training and exercising I’ve put in is paying off. He did say, however, that I’m not quite ready for Vegas. This means I won’t be able to return for our May shows at Westgate Las Vegas.” His Las Vegas residency at Westgate is scheduled to run through December 2026, and his farewell arena tour — dubbed The Last Concerts — has rescheduled a number of dates in the wake of his illness.

Manilow also confirmed that he plans to be ready for his June arena shows in the U.K.

In March, the singer’s new single, “Once Before I Go,” became a top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, making Manilow the only artist in history to score an Adult Contemporary hit in six consecutive decades during a run that has stretched from the 1970s through the 2020s. His first new album in 15 years, What a Time, is due June 5.

Check out the preview of the Manilow interview below.

It’s only fitting Brooklyn native Young M.A is back in NYC promoting her forthcoming Kween album on Biggie’s birthday (May 21). While she lives about 800 miles south in Georgia these days, she still feels B.I.G.’s “energy and aura” whenever the 34-year-old returns home to the Big Apple borough.

Rocking a matching yellow sweatsuit and designer shades on a rainy day following an NYC heatwave, Young M.A is initially disappointed that she’s walking into a Billboard office meeting room for our chat, rather than a vibrant studio for an on-camera interview.

“I would’ve saved this fit,” she playfully says. “I wore yellow to get in a good, positive energy and all that. I wouldn’t have worn no yellow on a rainy day in New York.”

Kween — which she has inked above her left eyebrow alongside a crown — will serve as the Brooklyn rapper’s first project in five years and comes a decade after Young M.A shook up the concrete jungle with her Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit “OOOUUU.”

She’s spent the better part of the time between projects out of the spotlight, dealing with personal issues and a health scare. In 2023, Young M.A was hospitalized for liver complications tied to drinking alcohol. Today, she’s sober and looking healthy, getting back to being herself again.

“I had a time in my life where I consumed a little bit too much alcohol and it put me in a bad physical state. I was on the edge, like real close,” she reveals. “I tapped with God and I got angels protecting me. I was able to fight through it.”

Young M.A returned to the stage in BK on Thursday night (May 28) for a hometown show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg hours before Kween arrived independently on Friday (May 29).

Even while recording a project sober for the first time, the bars remain razor-sharp, as the MC nestles her life story into a hard-hitting intro track. She also leans into light-hearted moments of fun that come on more melodic songs like “Dancer.” There are a few guests joining her, as Young M.A recruited Tory Lanez and G Herbo for assists along the way.

One thing’s for sure, Young M.A doesn’t want her sophomore album to be billed as a comeback. “It’s like a reset, I’m continuing on,” she explains. “This not a comeback. I don’t want people to think this is a comeback. We had a little bump in the road and we got over that and we’re driving again.”

Find the rest of our interview with Young M.A below, as she touches on Kween, rap becoming too “gossipy,” 10 years of “OOOUUU” and her real estate investments.

View this post on Instagram

How was recording Kween over the course of five years since your last album?

Ups and downs, definitely a roller coaster. I had to get myself back on track to really focus on the music in itself. One thing about your personal life, it can pull you in. I just had to take all that energy and put it back into the music.

What do you think you learned about yourself these last few years stepping away?

I learned how strong I am. I always knew I was strong, confident and bold, but this was different. Taught me a lot going through what I did and being able to come out of it. It put me into a different creative creative mindset, too. I view things a little different, so it puts my music in a different creative zone.

Was it different creating sober?

Yeah, it’s definitely a difference. It’s not like I’m just a drinker all day. You drink to get the edge off and it puts you in a more bold and blunted more. You become more confident in what you doing and you might say it in a more confident way. When you’re sober, you kinda overthink and hesitate a little more and you’re not as free-minded either. I’m still me. I make music off of what I go through so I put myself in that mindset. I think I was a little more aggressive before. I feel a more mature, grown-up and disciplined stage.

How was linking up with G Herbo for “Pressure?”

That was organic. We had linked up after a show on Druski’s tour in Chicago and he was one of the people that came out. We chopped it up backstage and we were supposed to link up on a song years ago. We were talking and he was like, “What we doing?” I told him I had a track on the album that he would fit perfectly on. I played the joint for him by the car and he f–ked with it immediately.

I think “Dancer” is my favorite from the album.

That’s the one catching a lot of people’s eye when I play it for them. My real fans know when I make music, I make all types of music. I’m versatile. The people that hear it and think it’s different, it’s not. I’ve been tapped into that vibe. It’s crazy with that song, I was in the car on my way home by myself and that’s really the best time to get in a creative space. I just got the beat from my producer Mike Zombie and I’m listening and it’s got that SWV sample that automatically pulls you in. I just hear, “You fell in love with a dancer.” It just popped in my head. Just wrote it down and locked it in. In the car, I just think of lyrics. A lot of time my music came from me in the car thinking of lyrics.

On “Lasagna,” you said, “Rappers keep talking and not rapping anymore.” What are you seeing with the game right now in that way?

It’s too gossipy. It’s like a soap opera. It’s taking away from the music. It’s taking away from what the fans f–k with you for. When they start to get to know you, it takes away from the art. When you know too much about a person, it takes away from the music. I know you now. The whole dream of being a famous person is to not really know the person and just their music so when you meet them it’s like, “Who are you?” That’s why I stay [mysterious]. I don’t mind them knowing about the situation I went through, but to know everything about me too much. Nah. It’s dangerous too. You never know how people feel about your lifestyle.

What do you hope this album accomplishes? This is like your statement back.

I ain’t looking for no type of accomplishment. I just want them to understand that the music never left. There’s a lot of controversy behind me and that’s the last of what people heard about me.

How does it feel to be celebrating 10 years of “OOOUUU?”

“OOOUUU” is the baby. You can’t speak on that in a few minutes. That’s the foundation of this whole thing. I’m always gonna appreciate that record. I’ll never get tired of that record. That record makes me a lot of money to this day. It’s a blessing. I’ve known how to make fun music. That’s a part of me. We gonna have fun some more. It’s classic. It’s timeless. I made a timeless record and that’s a blessing in itself. People probably get one summer or two summers, but I still hear my record like it just dropped. Now we got the EDM version going crazy as if it just dropped. It will be here with the kid’s kids.

How do you feel like the rap landscape’s changed since then to now?

So different, the algorithm. That’s the No. 1 issue to me right now, with just social media and just promoting your music. It’s a lot of soap opera stuff going on that catches the algorithm more than anything. It’s like, you gotta do things that you don’t even want to do. I can’t do that. So I gotta put extra effort in promo to promote my album. And I’m still independent, so it’s all home base. That’s what really changed, the algorithm from the time I came out to now. It was still fun back then. I hope we can change that. It’s a drug for these people now.

Were there any collabs that didn’t make the cut for the album?

It’s one record I had sent out to Kehlani. It’s a good record. I feel like she’s perfect for it. That’s why it’s not on the album. Probably will be for a future project. I know she’s been busy, she just got a Grammy. She been on a run. We talked to her team, but it never got situated.

I heard you talking about investments and real estate on the album. How did you get into that?

It’s something I kind of always had a little education on. When I got my first big check, I bought a house. That’s how I learned a lot about real estate through my realtors. My first realtor in New Jersey got me something decent for what I got. It was like a half-a-million-dollar house, but it’s five bedrooms with a big pool on two acres of land in [New] Jersey. It’s a good deal. I think the owners wanted to leave. They left me a few things in there, it was so real.

From then, I was kind of interested in it. I didn’t start taking it serious until I bought two more houses. I’m starting to learn the flip of it. When I sold my first house in Jersey, I made a $300,000 profit from it. It really sparked my attention. My realtor now, I’m in Georgia, it’s what of them places that’s high in the market. I love it. When I chill from music, I’ll take that on full force.

What else do you want to get involved in?

I’m doing fitness right now. I got a line. It’s called KNRTH fitness (Kings and Kweens Never Rest They Hustle). I’m in a contract situation right now that we’re about to fully lock in. I’m about to go into business with someone who’s more invested in the production and manufacturing. I got a business partner that’s putting all this together. Fitness is something I jumped right into once I got out of the hospital.

Do you think there’s a King of New York right now?

Besides me, nah. I don’t think New York’s lacking, it’s just been a little quiet. We just need someone to come make some noise again. We there, but someone’s gotta wake up the beast and come back full force. We all kings and queens.

What’s your goal for the year?

To bring the music back to music. That’s it. Everything I do in my personal life, that’s something I’m gon’ handle. But for the people, me being back out in public and on the surface of things, I just need the music to feel like music again. Let’s have fun again. You know what record I like right now, it’s that Yung Miami “Spend Dat.” That’s fun and different. Let’s have this flow the whole summer. Bring more of that energy everybody. That’s how I’m coming.

Sometimes, the universe aligns perfectly. Take the “Michael Jackson of the Caribbean,” Machel Montano, unveiling his new documentary the same week as the late, original Michael Jackson dominates the Billboard charts, for example.

On Friday (May 29), Like Ah Boss: Journey of a Soca King – Machel Montano officially debuts in the U.S. on all digital platforms. Co-directed by Sunseeker Media founder Bart Phillips and Montano’s manager, Che Khotari, the new documentary eschews the recent wave of 2016 nostalgia in favor of revisiting 2015: That year, Montano kept the camera rolling as he delivered a whopping 16 high-energy performance sets across seven days during Carnival season. That jaw-dropping run gave way to a Coachella mainstage appearance in 2016, collaborations with international music sensations like Ariana Grande (“All My Love”) and Ashanti (“The Road”), and a performance at Sadhguru’s India-set Maha Shivratri Festival in 2022.

Anchored by a Machel Monday performance in front of over 25,000 fans and primarily soundtracked by his 2015 smash “Like Ah Boss” — which has earned almost 20 million official on-demand U.S. streams to date, according to Luminate — Montano’s new documentary is undoubtedly triumphant. But it’s also strikingly honest.

Like Ah Boss: Journey of a Soca King doesn’t attempt to squeeze an in-depth look at Montano’s four-decade career into a 78-minute runtime — but the film does trace the darker moments of his storied life and career. From the devastating collapse of a VIP stand during his 2000 Real Unity concert (which left several attendees injured and numerous legal repercussions) to difficult battles with depression and other brush-ups with the law, Montano’s new documentary opts for an expansive look at his past 40 years, one that adds real weight and gravity to the innately effervescent energy of soca music.

And it’s an apt lens for a journey that began when the King of Soca was just a child. At the age of 9, Montano performed at The Theater in New York City’s Madison Square as a support act for Mighty Sparrow and other calypso stars. Years of local success, hit singles and carnival road anthems followed, and by 2012, Montano evolved into a Triple Crown Winner, with “Mr. Fete” earning the Groovy Soca Monarch title, while “Pump Your Flag” snagged Power Soca Monarch and Road March victories. In 2014, he won the Soul Train Music Award for best international performance with “Ministry of Road (M.O.R.),” boxing out crossover smashes like Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me” and giving way to his iconic 2015.

Today, Montano stands as Trinidad & Tobago’s all-time Road March champion, with his hit single “Encore” bringing him to 12 career victories, officially surpassing the late Lord Kitchener’s long-standing record of 11. Already inscribed in Caribbean history books several times over, Machel Montano’s sights are now set on a concerted effort to truly break soca music globally — and the first step is completing his ongoing Encore Tour, which kicked off in Jamaica back in April, ahead of two Central Park shows on Aug 8-9.

Below, Machel Montano takes Billboard behind the scenes of his new documentary, talks pulling from New Edition to attract a younger audience early in his career and reveals the global superstar still atop his collaboration wish list.

When did you decide you wanted to shoot a documentary?

We started in 2015; we knew it was a significant time. I was going through a transformation. I had just met Che [Khotari], and he came on as manager in 2014. I told him, “I want you to manage me to zero. Take me back down to my basic self and then let’s rebuild it all over again. But first you come on the road and see what Carnival is like.”

In 2015, we were trying to win the Road March again, and “Like Ah Boss” blew up. It was a hectic year with the Monk Monté album. I took on a whole new person, and my motto was “Cooperation over competition.” I wanted to start collaborating with younger talent and international artists to spread soca globally. So, we decided to bring the cameras on board to follow us winning Road March, going on tour, and then into the next year. We had some ups and downs and just kept the cameras rolling up until 2020.

Why did now feel like the right time to start sharing this with the world?

I hit a major milestone in 2026, becoming the King of all Road Marches and breaking Lord Kitchener’s 50-year record. It wasn’t something I set out to do, but it started to become more of a reality, and we went hard to achieve it. But now we’re focusing on breaking soca music internationally. We want to develop a new sound now that we’re reaching a point here the Caribbean is gelling together; jab, Dennery segment, bashment – there’s a togetherness happening.

What was it like for you to watch these years of your life back 10 years later?

I hardly ever look back or bask in the glory and the wins. We’ve been working constantly, so when you look back at it all, you get a better sense of the timeline and what the universe is trying to do with you or through you. You start to understand what it means to people and where the greatest impact is. It was nice to look at key moments like meeting Sadhguru and going to Coachella with Major Lazer to perform an Ariana Grande collaboration. It gave me inspiration to push harder. Even though I’m 40 years in and should be winding down, it feels like a new beginning.

What do you wish you could have explored more in the documentary?

I wish I could have told a little more of what I had to do to make soca music become acceptable to young people. When I started, the crowd was just 50- and 60-year-old adults with three-piece suits and canes. I was like, “Where were my peers?” I went to the clubs, and they were listening to dancehall music and hip-hop and New Edition.

I was a big fan of Teddy Riley and Heavy D, so I would remake things like the snares from “Poison” on my little Mac computer and use them in my performances to appeal to the young kids. Like a mother would slip medicine in your mouth by pretending it was an airplane, I would do that by slipping a hip-hop song into a soca set. I also started work with famous Jamaican artists, like Shaggy, Beenie Man, Red Rat and Mr. Vegas to bring some trendiness to soca and our local culture. And, obviously, I had to introduce some sexiness; shirt off, waist moving at 100 mph, lifting up girls, just doing anything that was attractive.

You touched on this in the documentary a bit but talk to me about creating soca music while battling bouts of depression.

That’s the curse of extremes; when you go too fast for too long, you’re definitely going to crash hard and slow right down. So much of soca music is about going nonstop, drinking alcohol and girls — and sometimes we even smoked weed to put all those things together. When you do those things at such a high level at such a young age, your body will get run down. When your body gets run down, your nutrients run down, your physical run down, and immediately the next thing to go is your mental and then your emotional [health]. I have a good, supportive family, but it was inevitable that at some point I would lose my ability to hold onto this system.

The biggest pressure with soca music is that you need to show up every year. You don’t take two or three years between albums. If you don’t have a hit this year, you’re nobody. You’re living with that constant pressure and fear. And when you crash, it’s not just not having hits; it’s also producing albums that are sitting in the attic not being sold. You’re losing money. So, you leave Trinidad Carnival, then head to Jamaica, Toronto, New York and London, hit Miami Carnival in October, and then you have November and December to make an album. And I didn’t want one super hit; I wanted to make albums that explored different songs for different communities. I also wanted to do my Machel Monday concerts, so I put a little extra pressure on myself, and it came crashing down. Sometimes you just need to give yourself that time and that space.

16 shows in seven days. Would you ever do it again?

We actually had one of those years again this year to break the Road March record with “Pardy.” But if I had to do 16 shows in seven days to break soca music globally, or to win a Grammy, I would do it. But I don’t think that’s necessary. I think we need to present the story of soca music, like what Bad Bunny did with the culture of Puerto Rico. I feel there is a level of Caribbean unity that must be achieved, including Haiti and Cuba and all the islands that we cherish, because the music is so similar.

What can people expect from the Encore Tour?

Expect me to have a really good time. I’m grateful to have both a young and old audience. I can’t wait to get finished with this tour and build the next 20 years of Machel Montano, but I have to be patient. People will get to hear my full spectrum of hits, and I’ve pulled out a song I’ve never sung before for each new show. Expect to hear all four decades of Machel Montano.

For the fifth decade of your career, what do you want to prioritize?

Global relevance and healing through music. My main goal is to make the world dance. I want to find the common thread that runs through soca, bouyon, Dennery segment, zess, dembow, reggaeton, even Afrobeats and the trends happening in India. I believe soca music is unity music.

We know you’re the King of Soca. Who’s the prince? Who’s the princess?

There are a lot of them out there, and each one of them will become the Queen of Soca and the King of Soca. Kes, Voice, Yung Bredda, Patrice Roberts, Nailah Blackman, Nessa Preppy — there are so many from different islands. Faith Callender, Trilla-G, 1t1, Litleboy, and Jordan English too. The whole Grenada crew with people like Muddy, Lil Kerry, and V’ghn. There are a lot of faces and a lot of people experimenting confidently.

Who’s left on your list of dream collaborators?

RiRi, holla! I’m writing songs for Rihanna, trying to get in her ear any chance I get. I would love to get her on a soca song. She has succeeded at every genre that she’s touched, and power soca is what’s left. I have this song I’m sitting on, and I can’t wait to come off the road to present it to her. I love her dedication and focus.

I love Tems too, and I also want to work with Moliy. We almost did a remix to “Backie.” Wizkid is a good friend of mine, and I’m hoping to do something with him eventually. I also want to do some Afrobeats and Indian collaborations, because I think those two elements speak to soca music.

What else can we expect from you in 2026?

I’m just focused on these shows and putting this documentary out there because I think it’s such a significant time to pass on knowledge to the younger artists. Expect Machel to take a step back at the end of the year and go dark. I’ve done that maybe two or three times in my career, and every time I have come out significantly transformed. And I have music that I’m working on.

Speaking to the Michael Jackson of the Caribbean, have you seen the Michael Jackson biopic yet?

Of course! I thought it was well done. Jaafar’s acting was definitely Oscar-worthy. It was really, really precise, and I understood why they told us that part of the story. I think this is going to be the Fast and Furious of music movies. We can do Michael 9 and probably just be hitting This Is It! I loved the quality of the acting; Colman Domingo and Nia Long were great. For the next one, I hope they develop the stories as we go along, because Michael was somebody that I looked up to. His DNA is in everything I do.

When they make your biopic, who do you want to play Machel Montano?

It will have to be quite a few people. When we’re ready to tell this story, we’re going to have to find the people who could really pull it off. I know they’re out there, so I can’t wait for that to be presented to me. But we have a couple of things left to do first — like topping the Billboard charts and winning Grammys. I’d love to repackage the history of Carnival into a $100 million Vegas show; I could probably end my days there like Sinatra.

Irish star CMAT has shared a statement responding to misogynistic body-shaming comments following a performance at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

Writing on Instagram on Thursday (May 28) the musician, born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, said she felt “compelled to wade in and speak for myself” following the abuse posted about her weight and body following a performance at the festival in Sunderland, England on Sunday (May 24).

“It is literally so boring for me, a gorgeous genius, to keep having to yap on about how horribly I am treated because of my body,” she wrote. “I would love to stop but I cannot because it keeps happening, at an accelerating and worsening pace as I become more famous.”

She added that she is “not being defiant. I am not choosing to look like this or weigh this much as some kind of punk rock act of liberty. I simply have a body, one that I would of course like to change in order to fit in and avoid all of this abuse, but I have had extreme difficulty in doing so. I don’t get a say in whether or not I want to be brave, I simply have to sit here and take it.”

In her statement, she shared screengrabs from a Substack essay from Front Row Feels which “summed up a lot of what is causing my deep sadness.” CMAT also wrote that she had deleted much of her access to social media following ongoing abuse; in 2024, the BBC closed comments on a performance clip by CMAT at the Big Weekend event in Luton following similar abuse. 

She concluded, “With all that being said, I am at the same time very very happy and grateful every day to have the job that I have. the feeling of seeing all your dreams come true after so many years of constant grinding towards them….. chefs kiss. but the success is increasingly becoming tarnished by the fact that I would be allowed to enjoy it so much more if I was thin.”

A number of stars including Olivia Dean – who performed after CMAT at the event – showed support on the Instagram post. Brandi Carlile commented, “Been a while since I was in a bar fight but I’d have one over CMAT.”

“Take A Sexy Picture of Me,” a song from her third album Euro-Country touched on the subject of body image; the LP won the best album prize at last week’s Ivor Novello Awards (May 21).