The Weeknd Leads A Fleet Of Cars While Performing ‘Save Your Tears’ At The 2021 Billboard Music Awards

It’s only right that the 2021 Billboard Music Awards commences with a performance from The Weeknd. The singer displayed a heavy presence towards the top section of the platforms albums and singles chart since the late 2019 release of his “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” tracks, the debut singles from his 2020 album, After Hours. More than a year after releasing that album, one that was shockingly snubbed at this year’s Grammy award, The Weeknd conlcudes the After Hours era with a brand new performance of “Save Your Tears” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. He performed the track while leading a fleet of red and white-colored old-fashioned cars while sitting in one of his own.

The Weeknd’s set at the award show comes after he snagged yet another No. 1 single thanks to his remix of “Save Your Tears” with Ariana Grande. After winning the award for Top Hot 100 Song earlier in the show, The Weeknd took a moment to tease new music. “The After Hours are done and the dawn is coming,” he declared.

He previously hinted at new music in a string of tweets last month. “Made so much magic in the small quarantined room,” he wrote to begin a string of tweets. “Nothing’s ever random… now just piecing it all together… it’s so beautiful.”

As for the Billboard Music Awards itself, the singer snagged seven wins before the official show began. These wins include Top Male Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Male Artist, Top R&B Album, and Top R&B Song.

Check out a clip of The Weeknd’s 2021 Billboard Music Awards performance in the video above.

Lil Baby And Lil Durk’s Upcoming Project, ‘Voice Of The Heroes,’ Finally Has A New Release Date

One of this year’s most anticipated projects is set to come from Lil Baby and Lil Durk. The two rappers are joining forces for their upcoming album, Voice Of The Heroes. Back in March, Baby spoke about the project in an interview with MTV News. “When it comes to that street sh*t, that ‘hood sh*t, we like the heroes. The kids look at us as heroes,” he said. “We got songs with bars, we got songs with vibes. It’s gonna be one of the craziest albums to ever come out… We got more than one album recorded. We been locked in with each other. That sh*t easy.”

The project was originally locked in for a May 28 release date, but the duo opted to push it back out of respect for the late DMX as his posthumous album Exodus is set to arrive on the same day. Now, Voice Of The Heroes will arrive just a week later on June 4. Lil Baby shared the news in a post on Twitter. “Album finish,” he wrote. “June 4 V.O.H.”

The new effort will hopefully continue the streak of impressive projects that the rappers have delivered over the last year. Lil Baby dropped one of 2020’s most-streamed albums with My Turn, a project that was boosted by six additional songs that were added through a deluxe re-issue. Lil Durk, on the other hand, reached a new level of popularity in his career thanks to his 2020 projects, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and The Voice, which both received deluxe re-issues as well.

You can read Lil Baby’s announcement above.

Bad Bunny Dazzles With A Fiery Performance Of ‘Te Deseo Lo Mejor’ At The Billboard Music Awards

Bad Bunny has been enjoying life over the last few months in ways that not too many musicians have. The Latin singer shared his fourth overall album — which was also his third project in the span of a year — with El Último Tour Del Mundo. He also became an official WWE champion after he won the 24/7 Championship belt back in February. He would continue to make appearances in the wrestling league, like April’s Wrestlemania where he absolutely stole the show. Shifting back to the music side of things, Bad Bunny took the stage at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards to perform “Te Deseo Lo Mejor.” The performance came after he took home an award for Top Latin Artist at the show and shared a thank you in a speech delivered strictly in Spanish.

The set comes after the Latin singer announced the dates for his El Último Tour Del Mundo tour. The string of shows kicks off in February 2022 and continues just under two months as Bad Bunny will land in popular cities across the United States. After announcing the tour, tickets for it sold out in less than a week making the 2022 tour the quickest-selling tour since Jay-Z and Beyonce’s 2018 On The Run II Tour and one of the fastest-selling in Ticketmaster history.

You can watch a clip of his performance in the video above.

El Último Tour Del Mundo is out now via Rimas Entertainment. Get it here.

The Weeknd Teased New Music For A New Era During The Billboard Music Awards

The Weeknd is known for creating a new aesthetic and era for each album he’s released since his breakout project, House Of Balloons. The latest example came with his 2020 full-length effort, After Hours. From the red suit to his “injured” face wrapped in bandages, The Weeknd did an excellent job of defining the moments that came with his fourth album. However, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and The Weeknd confirmed that the After Hours era is indeed over during the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. This announcement also came with exciting, yet vague news for fans.

While accepting the award for Top Hot 100 Song, The Weeknd used his speech to tease what’s to come. “The After Hours are done and the dawn is coming,” he declared. It’s very much possible that the singer just revealed the title of his fifth album to be The Dawn, but we’ll have to wait for him to confirm that. Regardless, it’s exciting to see that The Weeknd is already teasing fans with new music for a new era.

This is not the first time The Weeknd has hinted at new music in recent months. At the end of April, the singer shared a string of tweets that looked to build up excitement for the upcoming album. “Made so much magic in the small quarantined room,” he wrote in one tweet before adding, “nothing’s ever random… now just piecing it all together… it’s so beautiful.”

You can watch a clip of his speech above.

DJ Khaled, HER, And Migos Perform ‘We Going Crazy’ At The 2021 Billboard Music Awards

DJ Khaled shared his twelfth album, Khaled Khaled, at the end of last month, and just like his previous albums, the project was a star-studded affair that flaunted some of the biggest names in music. It’s this aspect that helped propel Khaled Khaled to No. 1 on the album charts. In the latest chapter of the project, Khaled calls on HER and Migos to accompany him on the 2021 Billboard Music Award stage where they delivered a colorful performance of their collaboration, “We Going Crazy.” Backed by pyrotechnics and a wide display of vibrant colors onstage, the group kept the energy high to kick off the award show.

Since dropping his twelfth album, Khaled has kept busy by dropping videos for a number of songs off Khaled Khaled which includes “Body In Motion,” “Let It Go,” and “Every Chance I Get.” However, it’s not Khaled who’s been highly active in recent weeks. HER is gearing up to release her official debut album, Back Of My Mind, and in the process, she earned Grammy and Oscar wins which brought her halfway towards the coveted EGOT. As for Migos, the Atlanta-based trio is also readying an album with Culture III locked in for a June 11 release date. They also shared the project’s latest single with “Straightenin.”

You can watch a clip from DJ Khaled, HER, and Migos’ performance in the video above.

Khaled Kahled is out now via Epic Records. Get it here.

Watch Doja Cat And SZA’s Retro-Futurist Performance Of ‘Kiss Me More’ At The Billboard Music Awards

Ever since SZA teased her upcoming collaboration with Doja Cat in their interview for V Magazine — where the TDE star also praised Doja’s entire ethos — fans were eagerly awaiting the joint track. When “Kiss Me More” arrived, it was a little different than what we were expecting, an upbeat, jittery track with the girls taking turns on the verses, but it’s been slowly gaining momentum since April, and tonight the pair teamed up for their first live performance of the song at the Billboard Music Awards. The song has been holding steady at No. 5 on the Billboard chart, and tonight’s performance helped prove why — the pair managed to turn the song into a retro-futurist spectacle that was equal parts ’70s throwback and intergalactic vibes.

Doja kicked things off with fringe-y, orb-filled outfit surrounded by dancers, only to have SZA appear just in time for her own verse, rocking bright yellow hair and eventually joining Doja at the front of the stage to end the song with a final dramatic dip. The song is likely going to be on Doja’s long-rumored new album, Planet Her, but who knows… SZA also has a record on the way soon. Check out their performance above.

J. Cole’s ‘The Off-Season’ Debuts At No. 1 While Tallying The Highest Streaming Week Of 2021

For three years, fans of J. Cole patiently waited for a new solo album. In those years, the rapper delivered an impressive guest feature run, even spearheading Dreamville’s compilation album Revenge Of The Dreamers III. At long last, the wait ended earlier this month, when the North Carolina rapper shared his sixth album, The Off-Season, which saw Bas, Morray, Lil Baby, and 21 Savage contribute to Cole’s latest hip-hop chapter. Now, the album is Cole’s sixth chart-topper, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

The Off-Season achieved the feat thanks to a total of 282,000 album units, the most for a hip-hop release this year. This number is comprised of 243,000 streaming equivalent album units and 37,000 album sales. The former is a result of 325.05 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks, making for the most from any full-length effort that was released this year. The previous record holder was Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which posted 240.18 million streams in its first week.

With the debut of The Off-Season at No. 1, all six of J. Cole’s official albums have now held the top spot on the Billboard 200. The rapper’s 2013 release, Born Sinner was the only release that failed to debut at No. 1. The rapper’s only full-length project that failed to reach No. 1 at any point was 2016’s Forest Hills Drive: Live, which peaked at No. 71.

The Off-Season is out now via Dreamville/Roc Nation. Get it here.

Lil Nas X Accidentally Ripped His Pants Performing ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ On ‘SNL’

Lil Nas X has done it all in the less than two years since his 2019 breakout moment. The singer has two Grammy awards to his name, the record for most consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart, and the most certified single in music history.

Despite the long list of achievements and milestones, prior to this weekend, one thing that Lil Nas hadn’t done yet was appear on Saturday Night Live. All of that changed last night when the singer stepped onto the Studio 8H stage to perform “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Sun Goes Down.”

The singer kicked off the night with a performance of the ever-so-controversial “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Sticking with the fiery theme of the song’s music video, Lil Nas danced and sang in front of a backdrop of hell that even featured a stripper pole for him to dance on.

Unfortunately, as he danced on the pole, Lil Nas accidentally ripped his pants in what proved to be a funny SNL moment. Afterward, he spoke about the wardrobe malfunction on Twitter. “I know i do a lot of planned sh*t but ripping my pants on live television is not one of them,” he wrote.

Lil Nas X would push past this potentially embarrassing TV moment and return to the SNL stage to end the night with a performance on “Sun Goes Down.”

You can watch the performances in the videos above.

Lil Mosey Was Reportedly Ordered To Stay Away From His Accuser Ahead Of His Rape Trial

Back in April, Lil Mosey was charged with second-degree rape earlier this year after an incident with a woman at a Washington state cabin party in January. A warrant for his arrest was eventually issued after he failed to appear for a court date. Now, the rapper is reportedly being ordered to stay away from his rape accuser.

According to TMZ Mosey, who pleaded not guilty in the matter, was hit with a sexual assault pre-trial protection order and as a result of it, he cannot be within 500 feet of his accuser, must maintain absolute sobriety, and cannot possess a firearm. If the rapper owns any firearms, he must surrender them to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

As for the incident in question, the woman says she and a friend met Mosey for the party. While they initially gave consent for a sexual interaction, they both passed out due to alcohol consumption, nullifying that consent. The rapper and another accused individual, Francisco P. Prater, allegedly had intercourse with the women while they were passed out. In court documents, the woman says she received injuries to her arm, neck, and inner knee. She also claims another guest at the party told her the two men talked about “training two girls.”

If convicted, Mosey and Prater face up to life in prison and up to $50,000 in fines.

YG Handed Out More Than $20,000 Worth Of His Block Runner Sneakers To Ex-Inmates In Los Angeles

The season of giving is still very much active in YG’s eyes. The rapper is just a few days removed from the release of his Block Runner shoes. The low snug sneakers are seated on a custom sole and feature red leather and a white-colored “The Flame” logo. The shoes were released at the price of $200, but a group of ex-inmates in Los Angeles received them for free thanks to the rapper as he handed out more than a hundred pairs on Friday. With the aforementioned price tag, this amounts to more than $20,000 worth of Block Runner sneakers.

According to TMZ, the rapper completed the deed with Mozzy on the date the two rappers released their joint album, Kommunity Service. The act occurred at LA’s Amity Foundation House and each person that received the pair of Block Runners is one that was entered the Foundation House in order to get back on their feet after being recently released from prison.

“Shoes is everything,” YG explained to TMZ. “Shoes is something you need. When you wake up, you going to leave the house, you gotta put on a pair of shoes and you know people love sneakers first of all. But for the homies that’s fresh out of prison from doing life sentences, they probably didn’t know they was gonna come home and they out and they tryna figure out life and do the right thing.” He added, So, I know for somebody with some status or celebrity [to] pull up and just gift them with anything, I know they appreciate it. It probably goes a long way. So, that’s all I wanted to do.”

You can watch a video of the rapper at the event here.