Blue Ivy Carter has proved that she’s a gifted performer just by joining mom Beyoncé on stage every night on the Cowboy Carter Tour. But does she ever want to release music of her own?

In an interview with People published Friday (Sept. 19), Tina Knowles shared her thoughts on whether her granddaughter may do just that. “She can do so many things,” she told the publication of Blue.

“She can paint, she writes poetry,” Knowles continued. “Anything she puts her mind to do, she’s good at. So I don’t know what she’s going to do.”

Though the designer thinks her firstborn grandchild would “kill it” if she set her mind to music, Knowles isn’t sure it’s Blue’s path. “I think she would be great at music,” the businesswoman added. “But I don’t think that that’s her passion.”

That said, Blue already has several musical accolades under her belt if she ever does decide to pursue music. In 2021, she became the second-youngest person to ever win a Grammy at just nine years old, taking home best music video alongside Bey for the “Brown Skin Girl” music video. The now-13-year-old was also featured on her mom’s 2014 track “Blue.”

As Knowles pointed out, however, Blue is multitalented. The eldest daughter of Bey and Jay-Z voiced the character of Kiara in Mufasa, and she’s established her dancing chops by joining her superstar mother on stage during the Cowboy Carter trek. Each night, Blue dazzled the crowd by flawlessly nailing Bey’s iconic “Deja Vu” choreography.

Blue also danced on Bey’s Renaissance Tour in 2023 — but not without convincing her mom that she was absolutely ready for the responsibility. “She told me she was ready to perform, and I told her no,” Bey told The New York Times that year.

“She’s having the time of her life, and I couldn’t be more proud of her because she really worked hard,” Knowles told People of her oldest granddaughter amid the Renaissance Tour. “She is 11 years old, and she had one week to prepare, and she’s just getting better and better. So I’m the proud grandma, always.”

When the pandemic shut down live music, many touring bus operators parked vehicles indefinitely, deferred maintenance or sold units into the RV market. But Dreamliner took a different tack. Even in 2020, while tours were grounded, the company took a chance by committing to new builds. 

“We basically started receiving and building new [bus] shells from the early days” of the pandemic, recalls Dreamliner CEO Richard Thomson, who started the company in 2019. He notes that the touring bus “industry already had a supply-demand imbalance” and that the pandemic made it “exponentially worse,” as buses came off the road and bus operators began selling off their fleets to help pay the bills. 
“Fortunately, we were building while no one else was,” he says 

The bet paid off. When touring roared back in 2022 and 2023, Dreamliner emerged with a modern, expanding fleet. In late 2023, the company acquired Hemphill Brothers, the Nashville stalwart long synonymous with A-list coaches, adding roughly 130 vehicles to its 60-unit operation. Overnight, Dreamliner became the market leader. Through aggressive acquisitions and steady fleet investments, it is now the largest touring bus operator in the United States, going from a small California player to a market giant with a fleet of 215 tour buses in less than a decade. 

In the live music economy, tour buses have become indispensable forms of transportation for thousands of touring artists who travel hundreds of miles between venues each night. These buses — rolling hotels and headliner suites — are the lifeblood of touring, carrying artists, bands, and crews from one city to the next long after the encore has ended.  

Now Dreamliner is looking to expand into the consumer market, hoping to launch a weekend business for its buses aimed at college sports fans, bachelor parties and high-end family trips.  Thomson sees an untapped consumer market for short-term rentals — think weekend football games, corporate retreats, national park trips, even bachelorette parties. 

“With 200 buses, there are always going to be gaps” when vehicles are just sitting in the lot, Thomson explains. Tapping into the consumer market can help them maximize each vehicle’s potential. “If someone wants to go to an SEC game with their buddies, tailgate on the way there, and be back in their own bed the next day, that’s possible. You get access to a multimillion-dollar vehicle with a professional driver. It’s like being in the Four Seasons on wheels.” 

The model isn’t cheap, costing $5,000 to $10,000 for a weekend, depending on mileage and driver hours. But split among 10 friends, it’s comparable to a luxury getaway. Booking currently happens via Dreamliner’s website, with staff coordinating drivers, logistics and parking. As awareness grows, Thomson believes consumer rentals could help offset seasonality during slower touring months like November through February. 

Dreamliner’s trajectory underscores how much the bus industry has changed in just a few years. Once dominated by founder-owned regional companies — Hemphill Brothers, Diamond Coach, Night Train — the sector now has a clear consolidator in Thomson, a former financier who entered the market in 2019 and quickly bet big. 

That professionalization has ripple effects. With a fleet of more than 200 coaches, Dreamliner operates at a scale that requires 24-hour on-call support, hundreds of employees and constant reinvestment. “We’re not just some bus company anymore,” Thomson says. “We’re building real infrastructure to support live entertainment at every level”. 

In a business that thrives on movement, Dreamliner is betting on more than just keeping up  —it’s betting on setting the pace, whether for country stars, sports broadcasters or fans looking to turn a road trip into an experience.  

The bus business has long been defined by imbalance. Demand for entertainer coaches consistently outpaces supply, and fleets take years to build. One company, Quebec-based manufacturer Prevost, is the main creator of high-end tour buses which it then sells to Dreamliner [and other companies?] as empty shells that take several hundred thousand dollars to complete. The company offers two bus types: headliner buses which include a bedroom suite and private bathroom for A-list artists like Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton, all who lease buses from Dreamliner; and band and crew buses, which include 6 to 12 bunks and usually include a rear lounge in place of a master suite. 

In 2024, Dreamliner moved into trucking, acquiring ShowMotion, which specializes in flatbed trailers for stadium stages, and ShowPro, which handles 53-foot big rigs for audio, video and lighting gear. That diversification gave the company a one-stop footprint in tour logistics. “On the trucking side you’re dealing with production managers, on the bus side you’re dealing with tour managers,” says Thomson. “By connecting those dots, we can be the easy button for transportation – one tour might need 22 trucks, three flatbeds and 12 buses. We can put it together for them and save them a substantial amount of money.” 

Inside the Business of Coaches 

At its core, the bus industry is about reliability and customization. Artists and crews climb aboard after midnight loadouts, sleep while drivers log hundreds of miles and wake up in a new city ready to perform. For that to work, buses must be both durable and comfortable. 

Once Prevost delivers a bus to Dreamliner, it then spends eight to twelve weeks in the company’s Nashville facility getting road ready.  

“We’re considered a second-stage manufacturer,” explains Mark Larson, Dreamliner’s vp. “The first step is built in Canada, and then it comes to us. We wire it, insulate it, build in the bunks, lounges, kitchens and suites. When we’re done, it’s titled and licensed here.” 

The economics are steep. A new “star bus” — the high-end unit reserved for headliners — runs well over $1.5 million to build, with monthly leases around $30,000, before factoring in fuel and driver costs, which can push the lease price up to $40,000 a month. While Dreamliner does have an after-market business selling its older coaches, most tour buses are leased on a monthly or yearly basis, depending on an artist’s touring plans. 

Demand is strongest in summer and fall, when overlapping tours leave fleets completely sold out. “The second half of September, we’re booked solid,” Larson says. “And that’s after adding new buses. The demand is always there.” 

While demand remains strong, the economics of building and operating coaches has grown more complex. “Costs are up across the board — labor, materials, insurance,” says Thomson. “We’ve seen nearly a 30% increase since 2021.” 

Insurance is a particularly heavy burden, doubling or even tripling in recent years. “If insurance goes from $15,000 to $40,000 per coach per year, that’s a massive additional cost,” Thomson notes. Labor inflation has also reshaped shop floors, with companies forced to raise pay for veteran technicians and new hires. 

These rising expenses mirror broader industry challenges. As tours have become more elaborate with larger productions, longer routing and year-round scheduling, the need for dependable rolling tour buses has only grown. Touring economics may fluctuate — 2023 was a record year, while 2025 has seen softer ticket sales and an international-heavy routing — but the underlying demand for buses rarely dips for long. 

Artist preferences vary by genre and lifestyle. For many, the rear master suite — with a queen or king bed and private bath — is non-negotiable. Country stars who essentially live on the road often prefer non-slide buses, maximizing interior width for easier movement while rolling. Pop acts or those using buses as backstage lounges gravitate toward multiple slide-outs, which expand living areas when parked. 

Technology has become the top differentiator. “Starlink is the big request right now,” says Larson. Dreamliner now equips buses with both satellite-based Starlink and multi-carrier cellular systems to ensure streaming connectivity across the U.S. and Canada. Multi-screen entertainment systems, gaming consoles and Bluetooth sound are increasingly standard. 

The company’s ability to customize goes beyond artists. ESPN recently commissioned a Dreamliner coach for its series College GameDay, converting a near-complete studio bus into a rolling broadcast prep room outfitted with seven TVs, recliners and workstations. “It’s plug-and-play,” Thomson says. “Instead of building a temporary media center at every stadium, the bus just rolls up ready to go.”  
 

In his 40 years on earth, Kid Cudi has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. He bared his soul, helping millions along the journey, realizing it’s okay to not be okay, and became a trailblazer for emo-rap in the process.

Cudi has continued to refine his repertoire outside of music, sharpening his skills as a director, actor and writer for the silver screen. The Ohio native premieres his Mr. Miracle short film with Billboard on Friday (Sept. 19), which brings his poignant Free track to life and co-stars LaKeith Stanfield.

“I wanted this to be a love letter to my fans because they’re part of the reason I’m in this place of peace I’m in right now,” Cudder tells Billboard. “They never left me lonely, they have always been there.”

It was only right Cudi took it back to his familiar stomping grounds of Cleveland’s House of Blues for the short film.

Shot in black-and-white, the opening scene finds the multi-hyphenate getting mentally ready for a performance while backstage alongside Stanfield, an actor Cudi’s long “respected and admired,” as the duo ruminates about their turbulent journeys to stardom.

A cinematic score gives the feeling of a scene straight out of a superhero movie. “Fearlessness, that’s my superpower,” Cudi reflects. “Not many of us have it. You’re like me, I know you’ll understand. I jumped out into the unknown without any fear in my heart.”

Kid Cudi continues to recall how many fans have told him they’ve saved their lives, but it’s the eternal connection with fans that’s saved him. “People say I’ve saved their lives and that’s the wildest thing to think about. But in reality, they’ve saved mine,” he says.

Following a moment of solace, Cudi rocks the House of Blues stage, while the clip becomes more of a live performance music video to the grungy track. Once he puts the mic down, the lights dim and the darkness Cudi’s surrounded with flips to a light shining on him, the kid’s gonna be alright.

Watch the Mr. Miracle short film and check out our brief interview with Cudi below.

Billboard: Take us through the inspiration for the ‘Mr. Miracle’ short film as it ties back to the song and ‘Free’?

Kid Cudi: Mr. Miracle is a celebration of life and I felt like I wanted to have a moment of reflection in the beginning. I wanted to do something to celebrate them and what better place to do it than in Cleveland in my hometown at the House of Blues, which I have history in — I have performed there a number of times. It made sense to go back and do something for the fans and send them my love through a visual.

What made LaKeith Stanfield the right co-star for this as a creative who can relate to your experience?

LaKeith has always been somebody I respected and admired for a long time. We recently met, he asked me to get on one of his records for his album, and we became fast friends. You know, our experiences through the darkness are similar — we have both been through the hell and came out on the other side. I know he could relate, you know, as an artist and just as a human on this planet, I know he can relate to what I’ve been through. It just was perfect.

I recently acted with him in his short film for our first single Fast Life (coming Sept. 26), so when it came time to set this up I thought it would be great for us to share the camera again. I think that’s something people will notice when they watch — me and him on camera together is a powerful thing. Both of us have put in work throughout the years and just have so much respect from our peers, and to me it’s like getting Will Smith and Martin Lawrence together to do Bad Boys — it’s the ultimate union.

This is hopefully the beginning of many things for me and LaKeith. We’re hoping to develop things together. He’s a great scene partner, doing the scene with him was so ill, and I can’t wait to share the screen with him again. He’s a phenomenal actor and an amazing person.

The conversation with LaKeith feels like a scene from a superhero movie. Do you ever feel like a superhero with your fearlessness?

Yeah man, I do at times feel very superhero-ish with my presence in the culture. I’m someone that people look up to, that they say saved their lives in some way, and I don’t know. I don’t ever want to act like I’m a savior or some superhero because I am just a man, and all I can do is tell my truth and help others. It’s a simple thing for me.

I don’t see it as this big extraordinary thing — as an artist that’s our job, that’s our duty. It’s standard to put your heart and soul in your music and not just say a bunch of shit that doesn’t mean anything. Really put a message in there and connect with the fans.

The ending feels like you saw the light. Does that message apply to your personal life as well? How would you define that right now?

Yeah, the reason I put that in there was to show a visual of what I’m feeling, you know? I love that it goes from dark to a bright light because that’s literally what happened. I was living in the darkness for years and one day I looked up and saw the light.

It’s just a powerful feeling. Right now in my life I feel complete. I am thoroughly happy. I have everybody in my life that needs to be there to love and support me — like my wife, my sister, my nieces, my daughter, my best friend, my mom, my brother Dean. I just feel totally in full completion.

I know there’s more to accomplish in life, there’s levels to this s—. The happiness I feel now won’t even be close to the happiness I feel years from now when I have another kid, or when I’m renewing my vows, or when I’m 60 years old and my kids are in college and I’m dropping them off at school and Lola is crying and I’m like, “It’s okay!” Lola is here listening to me answer these questions right now, she said I’d be crying more than her.

But yeah, I just know there’s more happiness to come, and I’m really looking forward to it. Right now this is the happiest I could ever be, but there’s so much more happiness to come.

You’ve always been open and vulnerable throughout your career. Why was this the right time to look in the rearview and peel back the layers of your entire life with your memoir?

I feel like I’ve gone through such a journey my first 40 years on this planet, I felt like it could help somebody in the same way the music could. I feel like I was at this place in my life where it was time to have some reflection.

Do you plan to release more short films tied to the album in the future?

Not tied to the album. I think after this I’m done with Free, but people will be able to see Neverland soon. We’re working on a way for that to come out so fans can absorb that — I know a lot of people have been excited to see it, and it’s coming soon.

But I am definitely going to direct more short films in the future. I just finished writing my next one. It’s a really beautiful, heartwarming, funny short that I feel like a lot of people will connect with — a lot of my fans will connect with it. It’s a powerful piece and I can’t wait for you all to see that. Hopefully we shoot next month, so that’s moving forward.

Taylor Swift is a multimedia showgirl. According to a new report, the pop star has a secret theatrical event in the works supporting upcoming album The Life of a Showgirl, which is set to arrive on Oct. 3.

In a The Hollywood Reporter piece published Thursday (Sept. 18), the trade magazine reported that multiple sources had confirmed the pop star is prepping a project for big screens that will likely premiere the same weekend Showgirl drops. The exact content of the event is “unclear,” but it will be related to the new album.

Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.

Swift is no stranger to film, starring in Netflix’s Miss Americana documentary in 2020 and releasing her Eras Tour concert film in 2023. The latter pulled in $179.2 million in the domestic box office, becoming the highest grossing concert film of all time.

The musician has also directed a number of her own screen projects, including 2021’s All Too Well: The Short Film. She has also reportedly been in the process of developing an original film for Searchlight Pictures, which she would direct with a script she wrote.

The report of the Showgirl theatrical event comes just two weeks ahead of Swift’s highly anticipated 12th studio album, which she announced in August through an appearance on now-fiancé Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast. Made entirely with past collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, the full-length is expected to deliver a number of pop bangers.

“I was so mentally stimulated and excited to be creating,” Swift reflected of making Showgirl while she was on her global Eras trek. “[The album is] a lot more upbeat, and it’s a lot more fun pop excitement. My main goals were melodies that were so infectious, you’re almost angry at it.”

When Cardi B calls, she knows she can count on Selena Gomez to pick it up.

In a recent clip from her CBS Mornings interview posted to TikTok, the rapper had nothing but kind things to say about the Rare Beauty founder, who guests on a song titled “Pick It Up” on Cardi’s new album Am I the Drama?, which dropped Friday (Sept. 19). “I just feel like she sounded really lovely for this song, and she’s such a delight to work with,” the hip-hop star said of Gomez.

“She’s a whole billionaire, and if you call her for something, she’s not going to hesitate,” Cardi continued. “Or [be] like, ‘Oh, you’ll hear from her when you hear from her, she’s somewhere in Bali living her best billionaire life.’”

“She comes through,” the hitmaker added emphatically. “And support.”

Gomez is one of several famous ladies who appears on Am I the Drama? The project also features collaborations with Janet Jackson, Tyla, Summer Walker and Lizzo, as well as Cardi’s Billboard Hot 100-topping duet with Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP.”

On “Pick It Up,” the Only Murders in the Building star and Cardi lament, “Pick it up, where we left off, can’t give it up/ I’ve been missin’ ya.”

The two women have previously appeared on a song together, teaming up with DJ Snake and Ozuna on 2018’s “Taki Taki.” The foursome performed the track together at Snake’s Coachella set the following year.

Am I the Drama? marks Cardi’s first album since her 2018 debut LP, Invasion of Privacy.

Watch Cardi rave about her relationship with Gomez below.

@cbsmornings

Cardi B’s new music features several superstar collaborations, including a reunion with Selena Gomez. “She’s such a delight,” @Cardi B tells Gayle King. “She comes through.” #cardib #selenagomez

♬ original sound – CBS Mornings