Lady Gaga took home a Sports Emmy on Tuesday night (May 20) for her pre-Super Bowl performance of “Hold My Hand” in tribute to victims of the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Eve, Hurricane Helene in Florida and Georgia in the fall, and the January wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County.
In a pre-taped segment that aired ahead of the Fox broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, the pop superstar performed behind a piano on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, introduced by NFL legends Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw. She sang a stripped-down version of her Oscar-nominated Top Gun: Maverick single “Hold My Hand” as various police officers and firefighters looked on around her.
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Gaga earned the 2025 Sports Emmy for outstanding music direction alongside her fellow producers Seth Dudowsky, Bill Richards, Joel Santos, Jesse Weiss and Brad Zager, as well as music editor Joe Nargi.
In the category, they were up against Prime Video’s Evolution of the Black Quarterback, HBO Max’s The Lionheart, ESPN+’s Noche UFC: For Mexico, For All Time, and Netflix’s The Turnaround.
After winning an Oscar for best original song with “Shallow” from A Star Is Born and 14 Grammys over her career, Gaga is now only a Tony shy of the coveted EGOT honor. While there is debate over whether only the Primetime Emmys should count toward the EGOT, the Emmys social accounts were trumpeting Gaga’s three-letter accomplishment on Tuesday night after her Sports Emmys victory.
“Putting the ‘E’ in @ladygaga’s E-G-O…she’s just short of the T!” read a post on @TheEmmys X account.
A$AP Rocky continues to tease new music ahead of dropping his highly anticipated album Don’t Be Dumb. However, the song that was played as he walked down the red-carpet stairs in the rain with his pregnant partner Rihanna at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday night, when his new movie Highest 2 Lowest premiered, sounds like he’s referencing the “Yung Felon” character he’s playing in the film.
And while it sounds like a standard Rocky record, there’s a point in the song where he’s heard rapping, “Shout-outs to my felons, boy/ We caught another felony.” He also raps something to the effect of “I can’t go to court, my baby mama child support, f— college,” as he’s posing for pictures next to the actual mother of his children.
Highest 2 Lowest, directed by Spike Lee and also starring Denzel Washington, has been receiving rave reviews and got a nearly six-minute standing ovation after its Cannes premiere. Denzel also received the honorary Palme d’Or, which he was presented with by “his brother from another mother,” Spike Lee.
This will be the fifth movie Spike and Denzel have worked on together, and it will likely be their last. “This is the fifth one we’ve done together,” Lee told reporters at the festival. “It has been a blessing, this body of work between us, doing films that people love. And I think this is it. He’s been talking about retirement. But five films together: that’s good, they stand up.”
The film is set to be released in U.S. theaters on Aug. 22 and will hit Apple TV+ on Sept. 5.
The Queens rapper and filmmaker continues to troll Diddy as the Harlem mogul’s sex trafficking trial heads into its second week. This time, he posted an AI-generated picture of himself on Instagram wearing a white “Free Diddy” shirt in front of a courthouse and followed that up with a screenshot of an article referencing testimony from Cassie‘s mother, Regina Ventura, in which she testified that Diddy requested $20,000 that he spent on her daughter after he found out she was dating Kid Cudi, forcing Cassie’s parents to take out a loan.
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“He only made Cassie’s mom take out a home equity loan to pay 20k for him to not put out sex tapes,” 50 wrote in the caption. “Free itty bitty Diddy! LOL wait is that legal.”
Just over the weekend, 50 Cent joked about people being offered $20 an hour to wear “Free Diddy” shirts in front of Manhattan federal court, writing, “Diddy paying people to wear Free Diddy shirts is diabolical, but $20 a hour ain’t bad. I might go throw that on for a hour tomorrow.”
In another picture he posted, this time wearing a black “Free Diddy” shirt, his caption read: “Ok now where do I send my $20 invoice guys, a deals a deal. If you want I can be there tomorrow from 3 to 4 OK!”
In other Diddy trial news, Kid Cudi is expected to testify sometime this week, according to prosecutors. And it’s pretty safe to assume that the subject of Diddy allegedly blowing up Cudi’s car over his relationship with Cassie will be broached.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky had to break out their trusty umbrella at Monday night’s (May 19) rainy Highest 2 Lowest world premiere at France’s Cannes Film Festival.
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Rocky wore a black suit, black Ray-Bans and a full set of grillz to the premiere of the Spike Lee-directed film — in which he co-stars opposite Denzel Washington — while Rihanna showed off her growing baby bump in an electric-blue dress with strategic cutouts and a scarf tie at the neck. The expectant couple posed together on the carpet under their umbrella as raindrops fell all around them, and Rocky posed elsewhere on the carpet cradling Rihanna’s belly with his chin resting on her shoulder.
A$AP Rocky, Rihanna at the “Highest 2 Lowest” Premiere during The 78th Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
It was the second time this month that fans have gotten to see the couple at a red-carpet event, following Rihanna’s baby-bump reveal at the Met Gala in New York City on May 5 when fans learned the couple is expecting baby No. 3. Rocky talked to reporters on the Met Gala carpet and celebrated letting their big news out into the world. “It feels amazing, you know?” he said in an Associated Press video. “We were tired of holding that, and it was time to show the people what we was cooking up. I’m glad everybody’s happy for us, because we’re definitely happy.”
The crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest reunites Lee and Washington for a fifth time, with A$AP Rocky co-starring as Washington’s son, Yung Felon. The project also serves as Ice Spice’s feature film debut.
The film is set for a U.S. theatrical release on Aug. 22.
Rihanna last walked a Cannes Film Festival red carpet in 2017, for a screening of the film Okja, wearing a white strapless dress with a matching robe and sunglasses.
Carín León places his second No. 1 of the year, and fourth overall, on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart, as “Ahí Estabas Tú” ascends 3-1 on the May 24-dated list. The new achievement comes only two months after his most recent triumph with “El Amor de Mi Herida.”
“Ahí Estabas Tú” claims the top spot on the overall Latin Airplay chart with 8.2 million audience impressions earned in the U.S. during the May 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate –that’s a 21% gain from the previous week. The Greatest Gainer-awarded track of the week trades places with Gerardo Coronel ‘El Jerry’’s “No Se Dice,” after the latter drops 1-3 with a 5% dip in impressions (to 8.23 million).
“Ahí Estabas Tú” marks León’s second champ of 2025. Previously the Hermosillo, Sonora-born singer-songwriter took command of Latin Airplay for one week through “El Amor de Mi Herida” (March 22-dated list).
With a second ruler in 2025, León is only the second soloist to have two No. 1s on Latin Airplay this year unaccompanied by another act. Earlier in 2025, Bad Bunny topped the chart twice with his solo tracks “El Clúb” and “Baile Inolvidable,” each reigning for two weeks in February and March, respectively.
In total, four artists have secured two No. 1 hits in 2025 so far. Between Benito’s two chart-toppers, Myke Towers claimed the No. 1 spot with “Otra Noche” featuring Darell, for one week in February. He followed up with another No. 1 hit, “Degenere,” which features benny blanco, leading for one week on the May 3 chart. Meanwhile, Colombian Kapo placed back-to-back champs as “Más Que Tú,” with Ozuna, ceded its place to “Imagínate,” with Danny Ocean, on the April 26 list, both one-week rulers.
Beyond his Latin Airplay coronation, León also takes “Ahí Estabas Tú” to the summit on Regional Mexican Airplay, where it jumps 2-1, his eighth No. 1 overall. He ties Eden Muñoz for the fourth-most rulers among soloists in the 2020s decade. They trail Christian Nodal who leads with 17 No. 1 this decade, Gerardo Ortiz follows with 13, and Alejandro Fernández with 12 leaders.
All charts (dated May 24, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, May 20. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Whenever Drake supports a team with his rooting interest or backs them with his six-figure bets and that franchise ends up losing, the 6 God hears all the noise from sports fans about the “Drake Curse.”
Drake was finally asked about the mythical curse in a mock interview he posted to his Instagram on Monday (May 19) in promotion of his partnership with Stake.
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“I feel like I don’t play sports, whether I picked the wrong team or not, if I could get out there and win for all your favorite teams, I would,” he said.
“The Drake curse is funny to me,” he revealed. “First of all, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. If there was a Drake curse, Kawhi [Leonard] would’ve never hit that shot, we would’ve never beat the Warriors. There is no Drake curse, but it’s funny, though.”
However, Drake did concede that he isn’t a sports gambling savant and has taken his fair share of monetary losses with bad bets over the years.
“I am a flawed sports better,” Drizzy admitted. “I will not deny that. That’s not my gift. I’ll let everybody roll with it. I’m sure if you’re a Drake curse believer, there will be plenty more content in the future to confirm your theories because my slips do not cash out. But one day I’m gonna have a parlay that’s insane.”
Drake added to the “Drake Curse” theories on Sunday night when his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of the Florida Panthers in Game 7.
However, Drake jokingly flipped the script and blamed the “Bieber Curse” in his IG Story, as Justin Bieber, who’s a massive Leafs fan, was in attendance front and center at Scotiabank Arena with his wife, Hailey, to watch the excruciating loss in person.
“I don’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been obsessed with the leafsssss,” Bieber wrote following the loss on his Instagram. “This year we made it farther than we have in so long and im happy about that. I can be patient cuz I know this is the team to do it.”
After reports last week of ICE raids at Kid Rock‘s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse in Nashville, the rocker took to social media to respond to the story and double down on his support for President Trump’s deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Responding to a Daily Mail US post on X about how his Nashville bar was the “next target for Trump’s sweeping ICE raids,” Rock started by taking issue with the story using his name for “click bait.”
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“Clearly I do not have anything to do with day to day operations at my Honky Tonk – but it’s good click bait, I get it,” Rock wrote on X. “That being said I 100% support getting illegal criminals out of our country no matter where they are. I also like President Trump want to speed up the process of getting GREAT immigrants into our country – LEGALLY! It’s that simple folks. But the below is not a juicy enough headline to get clicks and views.. in this day and age the truth often is not.”
Clearly I do not have anything to do with day to day operations at my Honky Tonk – but it’s good click bait, I get it. That being said I 100% support getting illegal criminals out of our country no matter where they are. I also like President Trump want to speed up the process of… https://t.co/1M0dn8rhLu
Last week, The Tennessean reported that the New Orleans field office for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) had announced a weeklong operation that resulted in the arrest of nearly 200 immigrants in Nashville. On May 14, The Nashville Scene reported that the kitchens at Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk and other bars co-owned by Nashville businessman Steve Smith had closed early to avoid ICE raids.
Kid Rock has been one of Trump’s most vocal supporters over both of his terms as U.S. president, most recently joining him in the Oval Office on March 31 for the signing of an executive order that aims to crack down on scalpers who illegally obtain high-priced concert tickets for resale. During the signing, Rock thanked the president for the order, adding that it’s a first step in stopping bots that “get all the good tickets for your favorite shows they want to go to, and they relist them, sometimes for a 400 to 500% markup.”
Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse opened on Broadway in Nashville back in October 2018.
Werenoi, the rapper who became France’s biggest-selling music artist in recent years, has died at age 31, his record label and producer said.
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The artist, whose real name was Jérémy Bana Owona, was the No. 1 album seller in France in 2023 and 2024 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) ranking, which includes in-store and e-commerce sales as well as plays on streaming services.
“It’s with immense sadness that we’ve learned of Werenoi’s passing,” his record company Believe said on Instagram. “All our thoughts are with his family, loved ones, his team and everyone who knew him.”
“Rest in peace my brother, I love you,” his producer Babs posted on X.
French media reports Werenoi died early Saturday (May 17) in a Paris hospital. The cause of his death has not been made public.
Werenoi first became known to the French public in 2021 when he posted his song “Guadalajara” on YouTube and it was viewed hundreds of thousand times.
He released three albums, Carré in 2023, Pyramide in 2024 and Diamant Noir in 2025, making him one of the biggest names in French rap.
Several French rappers posted tributes on social media.
French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, who featured on Werenoi’s second album, wrote: “Rest in peace my dude. A news that saddens me and courage to the loved ones especially.”
“He made a difference for the quality of his songs, his melodies and his punchlines,” singer Pascal Obispo, who had accompanied Werenoi on the piano at a 2023 Paris concert, told French newspaper Le Parisien.
Caleb Moore never thought he’d release “Comeback Kid.” But in a warmly-lit townhouse above a clothing store in Manhattan Friday (May 16), a crowd cheered and whistled so loudly for the song’s music video that applause for that night’s historic Knicks victory, hours later, paled in comparison.
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The “Comeback Kid” video release party on the second floor of Lingua Franca felt like summertime’s grand entrance, complete with chilled wine and beers, smoke breaks on the balcony, live music and a movie projector for the main event. A crowd of about 50 close friends, family and industry colleagues — including actor Billy Crudup, designer Cynthia Rowley and comedian Dan Toomey — dotted sofas and stood or sat cross-legged around Moore, son of actress Julianne Moore and director Bart Freundlich, who seems to move with his own gravitational pull.
Caleb Moore performs at his “Comeback Kid” video release party in NYC on May 16, 2025.
With his guitar on his knee, the 27-year-old alternative R&B artist — who recently released his debut EP, Doing Better, and opened for Barry Can’t Swim at the Surf Lodge — delivered a raw, acoustic performance to kick off the night.
Moore started with “Paranoia,” his first release of 2025, followed by his March single “Bad Guy,” a harmonious collaboration with NYC indie-pop artist India Thieriot, who joined Moore at the mic to perform it together for the first time. Commanding the audience with a gleaming smile, Moore riffed and joked between songs, injecting his set with lightheartedness, laughter and gratitude. The crowd sang along to “Sunshine,” a fan-favorite at Moore’s local shows, and quieted to absorb “Burn It Down,” an unreleased single.
An intimate crowd cheers for Caleb Moore at his “Comeback Kid” video release party in NYC on May 16, 2025.
Finally, before screening the “Comeback Kid” music video, Moore played it live for the first time. The song is a reflective ballad that Moore says comes from the realization that he used to hold a “‘keep your chin up’ attitude almost to a fault.” Initially, he thought the song lacked broad appeal.
“The one you don’t think anyone will want to listen to ends up being the one they like the best,” Moore mused before settling into the song’s meditative melody. Moore wrote, produced, mixed and mastered “Comeback Kid,” which he says is his most stripped down song yet, featuring only vocals, guitar and bass.
Its video mirrors that vulnerability. Filmed on 35mm in one continuous take, the nearly five-minute shot follows Moore through the bustle of Lower Manhattan in the early morning light as he sings “Comeback Kid” to himself with mounting vigor. Between budget constraints and the rising sun, the crew — directed by NYC filmmaker Giles Perkins — only had two tries to get the shot right. Their first take became the final cut. Once the credits rolled, the room erupted.
With his music video officially out in the world, Moore, a native New Yorker, promptly replaced it on the projector with the Knicks game and assured everyone that pizza was en route. Moore grew up attending home games with his family — even during the Knicks’ especially painful losing years — so not even his own show was going to stop him from catching the game. The crowd stuck around, too, and joy for Moore melded with joy for the city as the Knicks clinched victory, making it into the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1999. What a night for a comeback.
JIN‘s new Echo EP tops this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (May 16) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s latest solo endeavor as their favorite new music release of the past week.
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JIN’s seven-track collection saw a landslide victory, with a staggering 93% of votes placed in support of the EP. Voters chose Echo over new releases from artists across genres, including Morgan Wallen, Rihanna, Laufey, Avicii (a posthumous compilation album), Lola Young, Sebastián Yatra and Rico Nasty.
Echo — the follow-up to JIN’s debut solo EP, 2024’s Happy — was released on Friday (May 16). “Don’t Say You Love Me,” “Nothing Without Your Love,” “Loser” featuring YENA, “Rope It,” “With the Clouds,” “Background” and “To Me, Today” make up the tracklist for the K-pop star’s new project. “Don’t Say You Love Me” also got an official music video, directed by Yongseok Choi and shot across various locations in Singapore.
He’ll be celebrating the new release in the upcoming week in New York City with a televised performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!, on an episode set to air on Wednesday (May 21) on NBC.
Since its announcement, Echo has been described by JIN’s team as a “perspective on universal life experiences, capturing everyday emotions with warmth and sincerity. Built on dynamic band sounds, the album showcases his versatile vocals across a spectrum of moods and styles. It reflects a deeper layer of vocal maturity and personal storytelling that underscores Jin’s evolving artistry.”
Among the new music trailing behind Echo on this week’s poll are Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem, Rihanna’s “Friend of Mine,” Laufey’s “Tough Luck” and more, all with a very minor percentage of the vote.
