Pride
First Out: New Music from Lil Nas X, Kehlani, Sam Smith & More
Put simply, Lil Nas X’s debut album is a masterpiece. Montero takes in the collective joy of songs like “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Industry Baby” and sets them into an emotional narrative that is as complex as the 22-year-old bringing them to life. Throughout his phenomenal debut, Lil Nas X oscillates between hip-hop, pop, R&B and rock deftly, as he brings up his past on songs like the moving “Void” or the heartbreaking “Dead Right Now,” while also aiming for a newer, better future with songs like “Dolla Sign Slime” (featuring Megan Thee Stallion) and the earth-shaking “Don’t Want It.” Montero is a stunning portrait of an artist finally coming into his own after years of strugg...
Lil Nas X Gives Birth to Long-Awaited Debut Album ‘Montero’: Stream It Now
After months of teasing, trolling and self-promoting, Lil Nas X is finally ready to welcome his bundle of joy — rather, his debut album Montero — into the world. The new album boasts 15 songs, where Lil Nas X takes the genre-fusing approach that made his breakout single “Old Town Road” such a smash hit, and applies it to an entire album’s worth of rocking singles. Spread throughout the album as well are a number of special guest appearances, including stars like Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, and of course Jack Harlow on “Industry Baby.” Starting with his No. 1 single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” back in March, and continuing through his latest No. 2 hit “Industry Baby,” Lil Nas X has methodically rolle...
LadyLand 2021 Welcomes NYC’s LGBTQ Nightlife Back With Christina Aguilera, Caroline Polachek & More
Knowing her audience, Aguilera had a series of surprises in store — early on in the performance, the “Ain’t No Other Man” singer brought out Drag Race stars Aquaria, Milk, Jaida Essence Hall and Dahlia Sin for a lip-sync medley to a string of singles. Aguilera then reappeared alongside the queens, dressed in a set of stunning rhinestoned denim chaps, for a campy, drag-inspired version of her Moulin Rouge hit “Lady Marmalade.” The highlight of Aguilera’s performance came right at the end, though, when the star brought the lights down and delivered a stirring performance of “Beautiful,” wherein she reminded the crowd of the important message of LadyLand. “If I could leave you with one note for the night, on this date ...
‘Drag Race’ Winner Kylie Sonique Love Thought ‘All Stars 6′ Might Be Her ‘Last Time’ Doing Drag
Love says she’s proud to be the first trans winner on All Stars, and that she’s even more proud that she’ll get to continue doing drag — she says that during the pandemic, she found herself questioning whether or not she would ever be able to perform at queer clubs again thanks to the after-effects of COVID-19. “I didn’t think I was ever going to get to do drag again,” she says. “When I got called to do [All Stars 6], even then I didn’t know what was going to happen. Like, ‘I might just be sitting at home, watching myself on TV doing drag for the last time in my career.'” Below, Kylie Sonique Love chats with Billboard about her historic win, her hopes for the future of drag performance, Dolly Parton, her now-ic...
Here’s Who Took Home the Crown on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6′
In the finale episode, Love, alongside her fellow top four competitors Eureka, Ginger Minj and Ra’Jah O’Hara, were tasked with writing, dancing and singing in a performance of RuPaul’s brand new country song, “This Is Our Country,” featuring none other than country legend Tanya Tucker. Once they’d finished their performance and made their cases to RuPaul regarding why they should win, the top four competed in a final one-at-a-time lip-sync to Lady Gaga’s “Stupid Love.” During her original season, Love (who then appeared mononymously as Sonique) was the fourth queen sent home, when she lip-synced against Morgan McMichaels to Stacey Q’s “Two of Hearts.” Throughout All Stars 6, Love proved her own “rudempt...
Elton John Teams Up With Lil Nas X, Dua Lipa & More for New Collaborations Album
“The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one-off projects kept cropping up,” John said of the new album in a statement. “All the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late ’60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.” One of the songs on the album, “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” with Dua Lipa, has a...
First Out: New Music From Kim Petras, Halsey, Rina Sawayama & More
Kim Petras, “Future Starts Now” The princess of pop has finally returned! After a brief hiatus, Petras officially burst back onto the scene with “Future Starts Now,” the first single off of her hotly anticipated debut album, and her first single since officially signing to Republic Records. The ’80s Euro-dance track sees Petras cruising in a familiar lane, as pounding beats and catchy synths accompany her slick vocals as she croons about not looking back, and plowing forward into her new, pop-fueled era. “Ain’t nobody gonna stop me/ Don’t you let the music stop now,” she sings on the track. “You’re more than just anybody/ Don’t give up, the future starts now.” Halsey, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power...
First Out: New Music From Remi Wolf, Kevin Abstract, Michaela Jaé & More
Remi Wolf, “Quiet On Set” In need of some deeply chaotic energy in your life? Remi Wolf is here to help with “Quiet On Set,” one of two new singles she released this week in advance of her upcoming album Juno. The wilder of the two, “Quiet On Set” sees Remi embracing her childish side, as she raps about everything from ordering Chuck-E-Cheese on Postmates to having an orgy with five guys at a Five Guys. The grooving electric keyboard only adds to the anarchic song, which you should start bumping in your headphones ASAP. “Every song on this record is a vivid snapshot into what was going on in my life and mindset the day I wrote each one,” Wolf said of her upcoming album. “I hope my Remjobs can hear my honesty and passion come throug...
Christina Aguilera to Headline Queer Brooklyn Music Festival LadyLand 2021
LadyLand 2021 will be Aguilera’s first performance in New York City since her headlining shows at Radio City Music Hall in 2018 for her Liberation World Tour. The star recently made her return to performing live following the pandemic with two shows at the Hollywood Bowl, wherein she reinvented many of her biggest hits with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “It was a performance of a lifetime,” she told Billboard of the shows. “It was the performance I waited my whole life to do for so many creative purposes.” The annual festival, curated by New York nightlife icon Ladyfag, returns for the first time since 2019, where Russian feminist collective Pussy Riot offered up a rare headlining set, accompanied by performances from stars like DJ Honey Dijon, ...
Kim Petras Serves Up Baguette Realness With Sexy ‘Future Starts Now’ Teaser
After months of waiting, Kim Petras fans are finally getting the new single they’ve been waiting for. On Monday, Petras took to social media to announce the upcoming release of her brand-new single “Future Starts Now.” In the caption for a video clip she shared online, the pop singer revealed that the song would be released Aug. 27, adding a question for her fans: “U little baguettes ready?” For anyone confused as to why the singer referred to her fans as French loaves of bread, the video offered (some) clarity. In the clip, Petras is seen wearing a sheer black, open-chest bolero top, kneeling on a bed and surrounded by baguettes. Throughout the video, she tears, bites, twirls and fondles her fair share of the rolls, as a clip from her new single plays in the ...
Lil Nas X Would Rather Not Speak on Homophobia in Rap: ‘It’s More For My Own Safety’
He doesn’t know for sure if the video inspired the stranger to go after him, but he felt like it “couldn’t be a coincidence.” Rapper Jack Harlow, who appears in the “Baby” video, praised Lil Nas for “giving a voice to a lot of people and kids who could use one. I think the community he represents could use someone who’s succeeding on a mainstream level — where it can feel like, ‘Yo, you can be No. 1. You can be the greatest.’ I really recognize what he’s doing and I admire him. I admired him long before we met.” Lil Nas X, 22, also got props from pop icon Elton John, who dubbed the rapper a “bold and brave provocateur who’s making amazing and inspiring music. He’s pushing the boundaries of urban music by wholeheartedly embrac...
Miley Cyrus Calls on Fans to Help Educate, Not ‘Cancel’ DaBaby: ‘Knowledge Is Power’
The singer went on, telling her fans to seek out education and move on for the sake of progress. “It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds,” she wrote. “There’s no more room for division if we want to keep seeing progress! Knowledge is power! I know I still have so much to learn!” In the caption for her post, Cyrus tagged DaBaby to open up a dialogue. “@DaBaby check your DMs – would love to talk and see how we can learn from each other and help be part of making a more just and understanding future,” she wrote, tagging Greater Than Aids as a “great resource,” as well as her own Happy Hippie Foundation. Cyrus’ post comes aft...
