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NYC Eyes June 8 for First Phase of Reopening
New York City is on track to begin reopening June 8 as the state gradually loosens restrictions put in place during the novel coronavirus crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. Cuomo said the city was meeting goals set for hospital rates and testing, will “stockpile” personal protective equipment and will focus on infection rates in hot spots by ZIP code. “We believe all of these things can be done next week,” the Democratic governor said at his daily briefing. The state saw 67 new deaths, a number he called the “lowest ever.” Also Friday, Cuomo cleared a large swath of upstate New York to reopen hair salons, retail shops and offices under strict guidelines. Cuomo said virology experts had reviewed infection and hospitalization data and cleared the North...
Rihanna Speaks Out After Days of ‘Devastation, Anger, Sadness’
On Friday (May 29) evening, Rihanna spoke out on the deaths of several African Americans, focusing primarily on the killing of unarmed Minneapolis resident George Floyd by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes despite protests from Floyd that he couldn’t breathe. “For the last few days, the magnitude of devastation, anger, sadness I’ve felt has been overwhelming to say the least! Watching my people get murdered and lynched day after day pushed me to a heavy place in my heart! To the point of staying away from socials, just to avoid hearing the blood curdling agony in George Floyd’s voice again, begging over and over for his life!!! The look of enticement, the pure joy and climax on the face of this bigot, murderer, thug, pig, bum, Derek Chauvin, h...
How I’m Doing: TWICE, Alice Cooper, Angélique Kidjo, Perfume Genius & More Talk Life in Quarantine This Week
Artists have been prescribing music to their fans as a much-needed antidote during the mentally and physically agonizing times of quarantine. And tap dancing, if you ask the Godfather of Shock Rock Alice Cooper. During Billboard exclusive interviews, go-to song roundups, photo essays and feature stories, acts from Perfume Genius to LOONA passed the aux around with the tunes getting them through self-isolation. Read what these musicians are listening to and doing to stay inspired and active. Angélique Kidjo “It’s a sabbatical year. I started gardening, which I’ve never had time to do. Looking at food growing out of the ground, you understand how lucky we are to have the Earth that we have. I have a lot of aromatic herbs; I have coriander, mint, basil, cumin, leeks, beets, ce...
What’s Your Favorite New Dance Music Out This Week? Vote!
It was a big week for dance lovers, with Kygo’s new LP Golden Hour, Diplo’s long-awaited country album, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil and Lady Gaga’s dazzling Chromatica all dropping today (May 29). Add these big-time projects to a barrage of new beat-laden tunes by Jayda G, Baauer, Boys Noize and A-Trak and Chromeo’s Dave-1 performing as The Brothers Maklovitch, (reasonable as they are, in fact, real life brothers.) Of all this new heat, we want to know your favorite new dance music out this week. Let us know by voting below. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn re...
Watch Miguel Pay Tribute to George Floyd With Moving ‘Candles in the Sun’ Virtual Performance
Miguel honored George Floyd, an unarmed black man from Minnesota who was killed Monday (May 25) at the hands of police officers, during his virtual performance of “Candles in the Sun” last night (May 28). Performing as part of the #CokeStudioSessions hosted on BeApp, a new livestream concert platform, Miguel laid face down on the ground with his hands behind his back to emulate Floyd’s position when ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee down on his neck. He crooned the forlorn ballad from his 2012 album Kaleidoscope Dream, which generally speaks out on the injustice that minorities regularly experience. “Hey, I say we’re all created equal/ That’s what they teach us/ But that ain’t how we treat each other/ Naw, that ain’t how we treat ea...
Here Are the 10 Most Classic Lady Gaga Lyrics on ‘Chromatica’
Happy Chromatica release day! On Friday (May 29), Lady Gaga finally unveiled her long-awaited sixth LP filled with euphoric pop banger after pop banger. Following the stripped-down dive bar singer-songwriter detour of 2016’s Joanne and the piano-driven balladry of 2018’s A Star Is Born soundtrack (notwithstanding the pop absurdism of “Why Did You Do That?” and “Hair Body Face”), Chromatica signals a return to the type of maximalist dance-pop that rocketed Gaga to superstardom in the late 2000s with early hits like “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance” and “Born This Way.” That return to form isn’t found solely in Chromatica‘s turbo-charged sonic palette, either. The superstar’s new album also finds her rev...
Music Venues Across the Country Can Reopen, But Is It Worth It?
Concerts are slowly starting again, but they’re looking considerably different in the pandemic and many clubs are unsure whether they’re worth the risks. On May 18, TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas, hosted one of the nation’s first socially-distanced concerts with country rock artist Travis McCready of the band Bishop Gunn. In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus promoters implemented extensive safety protocols: temperature checks at the door, masks on attendees and staff, limited bathroom occupancies and disinfecting fog sprayers, among them. The venue also had to keep each “fan pod” group of fans who arrived together at least six feet apart with one-way walkways and vigilant staff. It was an unusual sight for Getty Images photographer Kevin Mazur, who flew in from...
12-Year-Old Keedron Bryant Pays Tribute to George Floyd With Moving ‘I Just Want to Live’
Everyone from Kirk Franklin to LeBron James and Katy Perry have praised the a cappella original. Keedron Bryant has given voice to what many people are feeling these days in the wake of the police-related death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The 12-year-old singer has drawn praise, and millions of views, for his moving a cappella performance of the original song “I Just Want to Live,” uploaded on Wednesday in the form of a simple video in which he passionately sings what it feels like to look like him in America right now. “I’m a young black man/ Doing all that I can/ To stand, oh but when I look around/ And I see what’s being done to my kind/ Every day, I’m being hunted as prey,” he sings, looking directly into the camera while performing the son...
Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters Are Freaking Out Over ‘Chromatica’
Little Monsters finally have some fresh meat to bite into. After a six-week delay, Lady Gaga sixth studio album Chromatica has finally arrived in all its glory. The new LP features collaborations with Ariana Grande, Elton John and Blackpink and is executive produced by Gaga and BloodPop. Spanning 16 tracks, Chromatica marks Mother Monster’s return to pop seven years after Artpop was unleashed. Judging by the early reaction, it was worth the wait. After dropping at midnight across digital music services, social media lit up with memes and messages as Gaga’s fans turned in and got turned on by the new album. This one has a lot of hype, and some Little Monsters are calling it the GOAT. Check out some of the reaction below. ALICE -10/10STUPID LOVE – 10/10RAIN ON ME – 10/10FREE WOMA...
Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, Becky G, Maluma & More Stars Join OneHuManity’s ‘Dream With Us’ 24-Hour Livestream
Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, Becky G, Maluma and 150 more stars will join OneHuManity‘s (OHM) Dream With Us 24-hour livestream show Friday (May 29) at 12 p.m. ET. Dream With Us hopes to combine live musical performances, real-time challenges, one-on-one interviews and empowering stories for a full day of festivities presented by OHM Live and Constellation, an inspirational human impact organization co-founded by Dubai-based entrepreneurs Jean-Karl Saliba and Zaid Frederiks. “Dreams can’t be quarantined. Dreams know no boundaries, no race, no color and no religion. Dreams have the power to change the world. Our vision is to amplify human connection within an ecosystem that enables dreamers to build a community and connect globally,” Saliba an...
Ricky Martin Drops Surprise EP ‘Pausa’: Here’s Every Collaboration Featured
It’s day who knows what in quarantine for Ricky Martin, but today (May 28) takes on a different meaning for the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter. Surprising his fans with a new EP titled Pausa, the first collective set since his 2015 A Quien Quiera Escuchar, features collaborations with Sting, Carla Morrison, Pedro Capó, Diego El Cigala, among others. Packed with introspective, poignant and melancholic lyrics, the six-track set is born from a state of vulnerability and the need to heal through music. “[Through this music] I share my fears, my insecurities, my moments of panic that I’ve felt throughout this quarantine,” the chart-topping artist tells Billboard. In times of turmoil, Martin offers Pausa (Pause) in lieu of a different album slated to be released...
Matty Healy Deactivates Twitter After He’s Accused of Using George Floyd Tweet to Promote His Music
The 1975‘s Matty Healy came under fire on Thursday (May 28) for a tweet about George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died following brutality from Minnesota police on Monday. “If you truly believe that ‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ you need to stop facilitating the end of black ones,” Healy tweeted along with a link to the band’s song “Love It If We Made It,” which features lyrics “We’re fucking in a car, shooting heroin/ Saying controversial things just for the hell of it/ Selling melanin and then suffocate the black men/ Start with misdemeanors and we’ll make a business out of them.” The frontman then faced heavy backlash from critics who accused the singer of using the tragedy to promote the 1975’s new album, Notes on a Conditional Form, which dropped last week. matty hea...
