Music – Billboard https://www.billboard.com Music Charts, News, Photos & Video Mon, 26 Jun 2023 03:09:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 Migos’ Offset & Quavo Reunite at 2023 BET Awards for First Performance Since Takeoff’s Death https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/migos-offset-quavo-reunion-2023-bet-awards-takeoff-tribute-1235361131/ Mon, 26 Jun 2023 01:51:28 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361131

Offset and Quavo reunited at Sunday night’s (June 25) 2023 BET Awards to perform a Migos classic and pay tribute to their late bandmate Takeoff.

The unannounced performance came about an hour into Sunday’s show, when a floor-to-ceiling rocket appeared on the big screens and the two remaining members of Migos walked into a spotlight surrounded by smoke and lasers. Takeoff’s verse from “Hotel Lobby” — a 2022 song from Quavo and Takeoff’s 2022 spin-off project Unc & Phew — played as the duo danced.

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“Do it for Take!” they shouted, pointing at the screen, which morphed from the fiery rocket to a photo of the late rapper, who was fatally shot at age 28 in November last year.

The duo then performed Migos’ lone Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit: the 2017 three-week leader “Bad and Boujee,” a 2018 Grammy nominee for best rap performance. The surprise set marks the first performance for Offset and Quavo together since Takeoff’s death. Also, Offset didn’t perform with Migos during their festival dates last year, so he and Quavo haven’t hit the stage together in at least a year.

Offset’s wife, Cardi B, showed her appreciation for the cultural moment on Twitter, writing, “I can’t take it right now,” along with crying emojis. “Proud of the boys.”

The 2023 BET Awards continue, including an upcoming lifetime achievement award presentation to Busta Rhymes.

Watch highlights from the performance below and see Cardi’s reaction:

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Glastonbury Crowd Assists Lewis Capaldi as He Struggles to Finish ‘Someone You Loved’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/glastonbury-lewis-capaldi-someone-you-loved-1235361118/ Mon, 26 Jun 2023 01:35:39 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361118

Lewis Capaldi returned to the stage for Glastonbury after taking a break to “rest and recover” over the past few weeks, and his return was aided by his fans.

As he closed his festival set with Hot 100-topper “Someone You Loved” this weekend, he appeared to be affected by involuntary movements and could not fully perform the song on his own. No worries, though: The audience stepped in where he left off.

Capaldi has been candid about his diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome, which is a neurological disorder involving sudden repetitive movements or unwanted tics. In April, he revealed it might eventually force him to quit music altogether.

“My tic is getting quite bad on stage now,” Capaldi said in an interview with The Times that month. “I’m trying to get on top of that. If I can’t, I’m f—ed. It’s easier when I play guitar, but I hate playing guitar. I know, I’m a walking contradiction.”

“It’s only making music that does this to me,” he told the publication. “Otherwise I can be fine for months at a time. So it’s a weird situation. Right now, the trade-off is worth it.”

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“But if it gets to a point where I’m doing irreparable damage to myself, I’ll quit,” Capaldi added at the time. “I hate hyperbole, but it is a very real possibility that I will have to pack music in.”

In early June, Capaldi canceled gigs in Glasgow, Dublin, London and Norway in a message that he said “hurts me a lot to have to type.”

He wrote, “The last few months have been full on both mentally and physically, I haven’t been home properly since Christmas and at the moment I’m struggling to get to grips with it all. I need to take a moment to rest and recover, to be at my best and ready for Glastonbury and all of the other incredible shows coming up so that I’m able to continue doing what I love for a long time to come.”

“Someone You Loved” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in 2019. Capaldi recently released his sophomore studio album, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent.

See the emotional Glastonbury moment below.

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Khalid Recovering After Car Accident, Ed Sheeran Covers for Him on Mathematics Tour https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/khalid-car-accident-ed-sheeran-opening-act-mathematics-tour-1235361086/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 23:56:07 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361086

Khalid was involved in a car accident this week, according to Ed Sheeran. Sheeran shared the unfortunate news with fans on Saturday (June 24), when he filled in for Khalid’s opening slot — and later played his own usual headlining set — on his Mathematics Tour.

“He’s recovering, and we wish him the best,” Sheeran said of Khalid onstage at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, this weekend.

Billboard has reached out to Khalid’s rep for an update.

“I’m going to say this after every song because if people don’t know I was going to be the opening act today, people are going to be walking in being like, ‘This show isn’t what I thought it was,’” said Sheeran at the concert. “‘I thought there would be more fireworks.’”

Sheeran made the best of the situation, and his fans at the show got to hear several additional songs live and acoustic off of his latest album, Subtract, that wouldn’t normally be on his main stadium setlist.

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During Sheeran’s opening set for himself, he joked that the audience would get to see him in two stage outfits — both a white T-shirt and a black T-shirt — that Saturday night. “I’m really pulling out the stops tonight,” he quipped.

“Usually when I start playing it’s like pitch black, and now I get to see everyone. It’s awesome,” Sheeran said of his early set time.

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Here Are the 2023 BET Awards Winners (Updating Live) https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2023-bet-awards-winners-1235361054/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 23:54:56 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361054

The 2023 BET Awards have arrived!

Drake and GloRilla enter the night as this year’s leading nominees — with seven and six nods each, respectively — but who will be the night’s big winner?

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Stick with Billboard all Sunday night for our updating list of winners, below.

Album of the Year
Anyways, Life’s Great, GloRilla
Breezy, Chris Brown
God Did, DJ Khaled
Her Loss, Drake & 21 Savage
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar
Renaissance, Beyoncé
SOS, SZA

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Ari Lennox
Beyoncé
Coco Jones
H.E.R.
Lizzo
SZA
Tems

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Blxst
Brent Faiyaz
Burna Boy
Chris Brown
Drake
The Weeknd
Usher

Best Group
City Girls
Drake & 21 Savage
Dvsn
FLO
Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin
Quavo & Takeoff
Wanmor

Best Collaboration
“Big Energy (Remix),” Latto & Mariah Carey feat. DJ Khaled
“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” Pinkpantheress & Ice Spice
“Call Me Every Day,” Chris Brown feat. Wizkid
“Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” King Combs feat. Kodak Black
“Creepin’,” Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage
“F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” Hitkidd & GloRilla
“Tomorrow 2,” GloRilla & Cardi B
“Wait For U,” Future feat. Drake & Tems

Best Female Hip Hop Artist   
Cardi B
Coi Leray
GloRilla
Ice Spice
WINNER: Latto
Megan Thee Stallion
Nicki Minaj

Best Male Hip Hop Artist
21 Savage
Drake
Future
J. Cole
Jack Harlow
Kendrick Lamar
Lil Baby

Video of the Year
“We (Warm Embrace),” Chris Brown
“2 Million Up,” Peezy, Jeezy & Real Boston Richey feat. Rob49
“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
“First Class,” Harlow
“Kill Bill,” SZA
“Tomorrow 2,” GloRilla & Cardi B

Video Director of the Year
A$AP Rocky for AWGE
Benny Boom
Burna Boy
Cole Bennett
Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
Director X
WINNER: Teyana “Spike Tey” Taylor

Best New Artist
Ambré
WINNER: Coco Jones
Doechii
FLO
GloRilla
Ice Spice
Lola Brooke

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
“Bless Me,” Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin
“Finished (Live),” Tamela Mann
“I’ve Got Joy,” CeCe Winans
“Kingdom,” Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin feat. Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore
“New,” Tye Tribbett
“One Moment From Glory,” Yolanda Adams
“The Better Benediction (Pt.2),” PJ Morton feat. Lisa Knowles-Smith, Le’andria Johnson, Keke Wyatt, Kierra Sheard & Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Viewer’s Choice Award
“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
WINNER: “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé
“First Class,” Jack Harlow
“Jimmy Cooks,” Drake feat 21 Savage
“Kill Bill,” SZA
“Last Last,” Burna Boy
“Super Freaky Girl,” Nicki Minaj
“Wait For U,” Future feat. Drake & Tems

Best International Act
Aya Nakamura (France)
Ayra Starr (Nigeria)
Burna Boy (Nigeria)
Central Cee (UK)
Ella Mai (UK)
Ko (South Africa)
L7nnon (Brazil)
Stormzy (UK)
Tiakola (France)
Uncle Waffles (Swaziland)

Viewer’s Choice: Best New International Act
Asake (Nigeria)
Camidoh (Ghana)
Flo (UK)
Libianca (Cameroon)
Maureen (France)
MC Ryan SP (Brazil)
Pabi Cooper (South Africa)
Raye (UK)
Werenoi (France)

BET Her
“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” Pinkpantheress & Ice Spice
WINNER: “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé
“Her,” Megan Thee Stallion
“Lift Me Up,” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From And Inspired By – Rihanna & Ludwig Göransson
“Players,” Coi Leray
“Special,” Lizzo

Best Movie
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Creed 3
Emancipation
Nope
The Woman King
Till
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Best Actor
Amin Joseph
Brian Tyree Henry
Damson Idris
Daniel Kaluuya
Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory Jr.
Donald Glover
Michael B. Jordan

Best Actress
Angela Bassett
Coco Jones
Janelle James
Janelle Monáe
Keke Palmer
Viola Davis
Zendaya

Youngstars Award
Akira Akbar
Alaya High
Demi Singleton
Genesis Denise
Marsai Martin
Thaddeus J. Mixson   
Young Dylan   

Sportswoman of the Year Award
Alexis Morris
Allyson Felix   
Angel Reese
Candace Parker
Naomi Osaka  
Serena Williams
Sha’carri Richardson

Sportsman of the Year Award
Aaron Judge   
Bubba Wallace
Gervonta Davis
Jalen Hurts
Lebron James
Patrick Mahomes
Stephen Curry

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Peso Pluma Dazzles at South Florida Arena Stop on Doble P Tour https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/peso-pluma-sunrise-florida-doble-p-tour-recap-1235361047/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 22:34:56 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361047

Mexican music star Peso Pluma played the fourth date on his Doble P Tour, presented by Live Nation, on the unlikely stage of the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida. It’s an unlikely stop because Sunrise, nearly an hour north of Miami, is not known as a bastion of Latin music — and the FLA Live Arena is more likely to host country and rock than it is Latin, much less Mexican music.

That was not a problem for Peso Pluma. Riding high off a string of hits — he currently has an astounding nine singles on the Billboard Hot 100 — he played to a crowd of over 11,000. The audience was remarkable for being predominantly Mexican and for its broad age range: There was an abundance of young parents with children under 10 years old.

Here are five notable takeaways from Saturday night’s (June 24) show.

1. The man and the band: The name Peso Pluma and the term “urban” are often used in the same sentence. Don’t be confused. There may be commonalities in the swagger and the outfits, but none in the music. Peso Pluma is a dynamic frontman who sings his heart out, fully live, backed by an energetic, tireless seven-piece live band made up of two guitars, an upright bass, two tubas and one trombone, with all members dressed in black and sporting black sunglasses for a futuristic look. There are no dancers or fancy pyrotechnics. It’s the man and his band, and it’s Mexican to the core, sonically bearing little resemblance to anything else in the market.

Peso Pluma
Peso Pluma performs at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on June 24, 2023.

2. Spiderman: Spiders are the symbol of Peso’s album, and the spider motif was present throughout the show. And then, there’s Spiderman. For those who harbored any doubts about Peso’s fandom for El Peter Parker, he donned his Spiderman mask midway through the show.

3. The friends: Peso introduced his compa Jasiel Núnez early in the show for two songs, including their “Rosa Pastel.” But beyond that pairing, Peso was generous in calling out the many friends who’ve helped him along the way, including his “hermana” Becky G and his compa Luis R. Conríquez. Of the latter, he said: “He was the first to give me a duet, when duets were scarce. We need to stick together. That’s why us Spanish speakers are dominating now.”

4. The kids: Were it not for the time of day, one might have mistaken this for a family show. There was a notable number of children in attendance, ranging from those clearly under 10 years old and sitting on their fathers’ shoulders to those who were slightly older, who sang every word to every song with gusto.

5. The chatter: Peso loves to talk — albeit judiciously — between songs. That’s a good thing, because he’s wildly entertaining and informative. And he’s promised that his next Miami stop will be at a stadium.  

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Girl in Red & Taylor Swift Pose for Sweet Snapshot: ‘This Iconic Tour Is a Life Highlight’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/girl-in-red-taylor-swift-eras-tour-photo-minneapolis-1235361032/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 21:41:15 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361032

Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis are four cities that should always be memorable for Girl in Red, as it was there that the Norwegian singer graced Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour stage as an opening act.

Girl in Red (aka Marie Ulven) had her last tour date on the U.S. leg of Swift’s trek Saturday night (June 24). The pair met up backstage to pose for a photo together: Swift, ready to take the stage in her sparkly Lover bodysuit, put her arm around Ulven, who looked somewhat starstruck.

“not the 30 seconds after show pic,” Girl in Red captioned their snapshot on Instagram.

“i adore taylor’s music and being a part of this iconic tour is a life highlight,” she wrote. “thank you so much.”

During her first weekend opening for Swift, at Chicago’s Soldier Field, she shared a video from Swift’s set and promised in her caption that “i could and i WILL watch this video on repeat until i die.”

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In the clip, the pop star is heard gushing over Girl in Red in a shout-out during her own set: “I actually have a really important thing happening tonight, which is it is the first show of the tour that Girl in Red opened up,” Swift told the crowd on June 2. “I absolutely love her … I know every single word to every single song on her album. She’s one of my favorite artists.”

See their cute photo together on Instagram.

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Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Hits 14 Weeks Atop Billboard 200, Most Since Adele’s ‘21’ https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/morgan-wallen-one-thing-at-a-time-14-weeks-number-one-billboard-200-chart-1235361020/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 20:05:48 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361020

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time clocks a 14th nonconsecutive and total week atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 1), marking the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Adele’s 21 logged 24 nonconsecutive weeks in charge in 2011-12.

One Thing at a Time earned 110,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending June 22 (down 1%), according to Luminate. One Thing at a Time is now Republic Records’ album with the most weeks at No. 1 ever on the Billboard 200, surpassing the 13 weeks of Drake’s Views in 2016. One Thing at a Time was released via Big Loud/Mercury/Republic, while Views was issued via Young Money/Cash Money/Republic.

One Thing at a Time debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18 and spent it first 12 weeks at No. 1. It then stepped aside for two weeks, and then returned to the top for the last two consecutive frames (June 24 and July 1-dated charts).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 albums chart, ATEEZ scores its highest-charting set yet as The World EP.2: Outlaw bows at No. 2, Gunna lands his fifth top 10-charting effort as A Gift & A Curse debuts at No. 3 and Queens of the Stone Age log their fourth top 10 as In Times New Roman… launches at No. 9.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 1, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 27. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 110,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 22, SEA units comprise 103,500 (down 1%, equaling 139.04 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 4,500 (down less than 1%) and TEA units comprise 2,000 (down 2%).

One Thing at a Time has earned in excess of 100,000 equivalent album units in all 16 of its chart weeks. The set ties Bad Bunny’s 2022 album Un Verano Sin Ti for the most weeks north of 100,000 since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December of 2014.

ATEEZ scores its highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 as The World EP.2: Outlaw bows at No. 2 with 105,500 equivalent album units earned — the Korean pop act’s best week by units. Album sales comprise nearly all of that sum — 101,000, which marks the group’s biggest sales week (and the top-selling album of the week). SEA units comprise 4,5000 — equaling 6.32 million on-demand official streams of the set’s six songs, while TEA units comprise a minimal sum.

The World EP.2: Outlaw is the third top 10-charting effort for the eight-member group, which previously hit the top 10 with Spin Off: From the Witness (No. 7 in January) and The World EP.1: Movement (No. 3 in 2022).

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of The World EP.2: Outlaw was issued in collectible CD packages (21 total, including exclusive editions for Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart, as well as some signed editions), each containing a standard set of branded merchandise items and randomized branded elements (action cards, partner cards, photo cards). Of the album’s sales, 97.5% were on the CD format, with the remainder generated by digital download album purchases. The set was not released on any other retail format (cassette, vinyl, etc.).

The World EP.2: Outlaw is the 10th album to sell at least 100,000 copies in a single week in 2023. Of those 10, seven of them are K-pop titles, with sales largely driven by collectible CD variants.

Gunna earns his fifth top 10-charting set on the Billboard 200 as A Gift & A Curse debuts at No. 3. The title launches with 85,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 84,000 (equaling 112.65 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 15 songs) while album sales comprise 1,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

A trio of former No. 1s is next on the Billboard 200 as Taylor Swift’s Midnights is a non-mover at No. 4 (60,000; down 13%); SZA’s SOS rises 8-5 (48,000; down 3%); and Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album climbs 9-6 (46,000; up 1%). Metro Boomin’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack dips 5-7 (42,000; down 22%) and Lil Durk’s Almost Healed falls 7-8 (41,000; down 17%).

Queens of the Stone Age land their fourth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as In Times New Roman… debuts at No. 9 with 40,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 36,000, SEA units comprise 4,000 (equaling 5.68 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 10 songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Sales of the album were bolstered by its availability across seven vinyl variants, and combined, the set sold nearly 21,000 vinyl copies.

Rounding out the new Billboard 200’s top 10 is Swift’s chart-topping Lover, which is steady at No. 10 with 40,000 (up 6%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

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Lana Del Rey Apologizes to Glastonbury Fans After Showing Up Late: ‘My Hair Takes So Long’ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lana-del-rey-glastonbury-festival-cut-short-late-arrival-1235361014/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 19:21:32 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361014

Lana Del Rey‘s headlining set at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival on Saturday (June 24) was cut short after the singer showed up late to the performance.

The “Summertime Sadness” songstress, who was slated to perform at 10:30 p.m., according to the festival’s website, arrived about 30 minutes behind schedule, the Guardian reports. Del Rey blamed the tardiness on issues with her hair.

“I was so f—ing late that I am about to rush this set to death,” she told the crowd. “If they cut power, I’m super f—ing sorry, my hair takes so long to do. Let’s keep on running the set as it’s supposed to go.”

Del Rey’s microphone was cut off at midnight while she was performing her 2012 track “Video Games,” forcing her to sing it a cappella alongside festival-goers. She then walked around the stage for a brief time before being gently escorted away by what appeared to be security and stagehands.

The singer returned to the live stage for the first time in more than three years at Rio De Janeiro’s MITA Festival on May 27. She performed 20 songs in Brazil, while her Glastonbury set only made it to 15 songs before its abrupt midnight ending.

Del Rey’s ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in March 2023. The 16-song release includes guest appearances by Jon Batiste, Bleachers, Father John Misty, Judah Smith, Tommy Genesis, and SYML.

She is scheduled to perform at numerous other music festivals this year, including Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and the All Things Go festivals.

Watch Del Rey’s apology to Glastonbury fans below.

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Kourtney Kardashian & Travis Barker Reveal Their Baby’s Sex in True Rock Star Fashion https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kourtney-kardashian-travis-barker-baby-sex-reveal-gender-1235361005/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 17:52:30 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235361005

Drumroll, please! It’s a boy for Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker!

The celebrity couple revealed the sex of their first baby together in a sweet video shared through Instagram on Saturday (June 24). In the clip, which was captioned with blue and pink heart emojis, the Poosh founder is seen sitting on the Blink-182 drummer’s lap as he rapidly taps away at his drums before the big reveal.

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“Is our pyro guy ready?” Barker, 47, asks his wife. “I don’t know what’s happening, whatever you guys had planned,” Kardashian, 44, replies.

After a brief drumroll and a passionate kiss, a stream of blue confetti and streamers shot into the air, confirming that the pair is having a baby boy.

In mid-June, Kardashian held up a poster during Blink-182’s concert at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to announce that she’s pregnant. In big black letters, the sign read, “Travis I’m Pregnant.”

This marks the first baby for Kardashian and Barker, who confirmed they were married on May 16, 2022, before hosting a lavish wedding in Italy on May 22, 2022.

Both stars have children from previous relationships. Kardashian has son Mason, 13, daughter Penelope, 10, and son Reign, 8, with ex-boyfriend Scott Disick. Barker has son Landon, 19, daughter Alabama, 17, and stepdaughter Atiana, 24, with ex-wife Shanna Moakler.

Watch Kardashian and Barker reveal their baby’s sex on Instagram below.

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Taylor Swift Asks Fans Not to ‘Defend Me’ During Rare ‘Dear John’ Performance in Minneapolis https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-dear-john-eras-tour-performance-minneapolis-1235360987/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 16:19:02 +0000 https://www.billboard.com/?p=1235360987

Taylor Swift is urging Swifties to show “kindness and gentleness” on the internet ahead of her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album release.

The onstage request arrived during the surprise songs portion of Swift’s Eras Tour set at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday (June 24), when the 33-year-old pop superstar introduced “Dear John,” her 2010 ballad about a toxic relationship with an older man, widely assumed to be the singer’s ex-boyfriend John Mayer.

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“I get to stand on this stage every single night of this tour and watch some of the most beautiful things happen,” Swift told the roaring audience. “I watch you guys make friends with each other. I watch you bond. I watch you give each other friendship bracelets.”

She continued, “I see so many beautiful interactions happen, and I hear so many stories about friends that were made at these shows. I watch it happen, and it’s the most unbelievable thing to watch.”

The “Anti-Hero” songstress then asked her fans to show “that kindness and that gentleness” on the internet when she drops Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on July 7.

“I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19,” Swift said. “I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

“Dear John” appears on Swift’s third album, Speak Now, in 2010. The track peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Swift and Mayer dated briefly in 2009 when she was 19 years old and he was 32.

The Minneapolis concert marked Swift’s first time performing “Dear John” since a 2012 concert in New Zealand, according to Rolling Stone. Watch the performance here.

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