Author: Rap Hooks

Morgan Wallen continued his trend of making grand entrances with sports icons during the launch of his I’m the Problem tour in Texas.

Before taking the stage at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Friday (June 20), the 32-year-old country superstar made an electrifying entrance at the home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. This time, he was joined by former Texans legend Andre Johnson.

Wallen and Johnson walked side by side as their moment was broadcast on the venue’s jumbotrons, with Wallen’s 2022 hit “Broadway Girls” featuring Lil Durk blasting through the speakers. In a surprise twist, Houston businessman and philanthropist Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale — owner of Gallery Furniture and known for his massive sports bets — also joined the walkout.

The walkout moment, which has become a highlight at Wallen’s shows — with previous guest appearances including Travis Kelce, Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady — was shared on Wallen’s Instagram. Fellow country star Jelly Roll couldn’t help but react in the comments.

“Just when I think you can’t goat yourself anymore — you bring out Mack in Houston- CRAZZYYYYY. Love you bubba,” Jelly wrote.

During his performance of “I’m the Problem” on Friday, Wallen displayed a montage of negative headlines on the video screen. As the song ended, he appeared to pour gasoline on the stage and mimed setting it ablaze. The track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year and held the top spot on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for eight weeks.

Wallen’s concert at NRG Stadium marks the start of his 20-date I’m the Problem tour, which runs through Sept. 13 and visits 10 cities. The trek features supporting acts Koe Wetzel, Miranda Lambert, Brooks & Dunn, Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock and Thomas Rhett.

“I spend months at this point getting ready to get on tour, just getting in shape,” Wallen recently told Apple Music Country. “I don’t have to be in any kind of crazy shape to record in the studio. With how big my stage is, how much I run around, and how much effort that me and the guys put into it, I don’t think you would know that by just listening to the record.”

The outing supports Wallen’s chart-topping fourth studio album, I’m the Problem, which has held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks since its May 16 release.

Watch Wallen’s walkout with Andre Johnson and “Mattress Mack” on Instagram below. And check out the tour’s setlist here.

Kacey Musgraves is recuperating after sustaining an injury from a fall while in Mexico.

In a post to Instagram Stories on Friday (June 20), Musgraves shared an image of an x-ray shot of her ribs. She wrote over the image, “Sooo I’m in Mexico with a f—in’ broken rib. Wednesday night it was raining and I was running to grab some towels and had an extremely hard fall on some very slick tile I didn’t see. Thankful I didn’t smack my head but I landed very very hard on my back left ribcage and I broke rib number 6.”

She added, “This s— is no joke. I’m in a lot of pain and doing anything is extremely difficult but I’m managing and being well taken care of.”

Musgraves noted that due to the injury, she would be rescheduling her performance at a Sing For Science event, which had been set for Sunday (June 22) at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. “There is no physical way I can get on a plane and fly back to Nashville … I am extremely bummed to have to reschedule as I have been looking forward to this for months but there is literally no other option,” she wrote. “I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”

The event is now set to take place on Sept. 18 at the Ryman. In addition to Musgraves’ performance, the event will also feature fungi expert Paul Stamets. The tickets purchased for the original June 22 show are valid for the new Sept. 18 date. The event, sponsored in part by The Simons Foundation, is a live taping of the Sing For Science podcast.

Musgraves’ other upcoming shows, according to her website, include a July 5 appearance at the Zootown Festival in Montana and an Aug. 2 appearance at Hinterland Music Festival in Iowa.

Since blasting onto the scene with his breakthrough hit “Beautiful Things,” Benson Boone has become the internet’s favorite punching bag. But instead of trying to prove them wrong, the singer decided to lean in with his latest music video.

On Friday (June 20), Boone dropped the tongue-in-cheek music video for his new song “Mr. Electric Blue,” off his just-released LP American Heart. From the start of the clip, Boone goes out of his way to play with all the worst things the internet has to say about him when he walks into “Industry Plant Records” wearing a t-shirt that simply says “one hit wonder” for a frank conversation with his sleazy agent (played by his frequent songwriting collaborator Jack LaFrantz).

“Have you not been on the internet? Everything is terrible, Benson! We put all of our money into ‘moonbeam ice cream’ and the backflip, and it’s done absolutely horrible,” LaFrantz’s character tells an exasperated Boone. He informs the singer that he owes his faux label $10 million, and suggests that he find “a new gimmick” like “good songwriting.” At the suggestion, Boone deflates: “You know I can’t do that.”

What ensues is a madcap montage, where Boone takes as many odd jobs as he can to raise the money. He walks dogs (while wearing another T-shirt that says “”), mows lawns (for a company called “Auto-Tune Trimmers”), washes cars (with bumper stickers declaring “mustaches are lame”) sells his sparkly jumpsuits and even opens a moonbeam ice cream truck. Of course, that still doesn’t stop the criticism from coming — when he’s recognized by a little girl as “the guy who sings ‘Beautiful Things,’” she quickly humbles him: “Your music is terrible.”

For his hustling and hard work, Boone makes a grand total of $168, but begs LaFrantz’s agent to give him another chance. But his agent assures him that he found a better solution, saying he “sold your entire catalog to retail chains, fast food chains and movie theaters,” promising that “you’ll be the most overplayed artist in the world, and I’ll be rich.” A dejected Boone sighs and smiles, saying “that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” before celebrating his ubiquity.

It’s far from the first time Boone has commented on the way people perceive him. The singer posted a TikTok back in April, explaining that he could understand people not liking him or his music if there were more people offering concrete reasons for their distaste. “I just read a comment that said ‘idek why I hate Benson Boone but it feels right,’” he wrote on the video. “Like WHAT!!? how am I supposed to improve after reading that? At least say something valid like ‘he low key just flips everywhere can he [do] anything else?’”

Watch the full video for Boone’s “Mr. Electric Blue” above.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The WWE’s reality competition series WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats) premieres its second season on Sunday (June 22).

It features 16 contenders battling for a chance to make it to the big leagues of pro wrestling in the WWE. Season two also features five legendary coaches: Undertaker, Booker T, Michelle McCool, Bubba Ray Dudley and Shawn Michaels.

When Does ‘WWE LFG’ Start?

Season two of WWE LFG has a start time of 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Where to Watch ‘WWE LFG’ Online

WWE LFG airs on A&E. The series is available to stream on Philo, DirecTV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV. Keep reading for more details on how cord-cutters can watch the WWE reality series online.

How to Watch ‘WWE LFG’ with Philo

A subscription to Philo — which comes with A&E — gets you access to live TV from cable channels for just $28 per month.

In fact, you can watch more than 70 cable networks, such as AMC, BBC America, BET, Cartoon Network, CMT, Discovery Channel, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, History Channel, IFC, Lifetime, Logo, MotorTrends, Nickelodeon, OWN, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, Sundance TV, TLC, VH1, Vice and many others.

In addition, AMC+ is available on Philo. The premium streaming service comes with Philo Core for free, so you can get even more movies and TV shows to watch with signup.

How to Watch ‘WWE LFG’ with DirecTV

A subscription to DirecTV — which comes with A&E for WWE LFG — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $59.99 for the first month of service ($89.99 per month afterwards) for the streamer’s signature packages.

You can watch local networks such as NBC, ABC, Fox, and PBS, while you can watch many cable networks, including ESPN, FS1, Lifetime, FX, AMC, Bravo, BET, MTV, Paramount Network, Cartoon Network, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, CNBC and others.

How to Watch ‘WWE LFG’ with Hulu + Live TV

WWE LFG on A&E is available to watch with Hulu + Live TV. Prices for the cable alternative start at $82.99 per month, while each plan comes with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ at no additional cost.

Hulu + Live TV might be best for those who want all of these streaming services together in one bundle. It features many other networks, including ESPN, ABC, Hallmark Channel, BET, CMT, Disney Channel, NBC, Fox Sports and more.

How to Watch ‘WWE LFG’ with Fubo

To watch season two of WWE LFG on A&E, Fubo starts at $64.99 for the first month, $84.99 per month afterwards (the streamer’s current deal) with more than 225 channels — including local and cable — that are streamable on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and on web browsers.

The service even gets you live access to local broadcast networks including NBC, Fox and ABC, while it has dozens of cable networks, such as ESPN, Bravo, CMT, ID, TV Land, VH1, TLC, E!, FS1, MTV, FX, Ion, OWN, Paramount Network and much more.

Starting at 10 p.m. ET/PT, WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats) airs on A&E on Sunday (June 22). The series features the opening theme song “Take A Lesson” by def rebel (music producer Doug Davis), while it’s available to stream on Philo.

Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

Pop-rock artist Role Model has signed with Good World Management’s Brandon Creed and Dani Russin, Billboard can confirm. 

Role Model joins a stacked roster of superstars at the firm, including Charli xcx, Troye Sivan, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.

In April, Role Model parted ways with his manager, Best Friends’ Danny Rukasin, who helped the artist become a breakout star. The singer-songwriter recently scored his first Hot 100 hit with “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” The song is off the deluxe edition of Role Model’s 2024 album, Kansas Anymore, which arrived in February.

Role Model signed to Interscope in 2018 and released his debut album, the more alternative-sounding Rx, in 2022. But last year’s Kansas Anymore — which featured a softer, more Americana-inspired sound — changed the course of his career and helped solidify him as one to watch. 

Since the release of Kansas Anymore, Role Model has opened on tour for Gracie Abrams and, more recently, celebrated two sold-out shows in Los Angeles; at one of those shows, he welcomed Reneé Rapp on stage as a surprise guest during “Sally.” Attendees at the L.A. concerts included Laufey, The Kid Laroi, Shaboozey, Shaboozey and Jason Sudeikis.

In May, it was announced that Role Model will make his acting debut in the upcoming Lena Dunham-directed Netflix film, Good Sex, starring Mark Ruffalo and Natalie Portman. He will be credited under his born name of Tucker Pillsbury.

Creed founded Good World in August 2023. At the top of 2025, he was named Billboard‘s Manager of the Year along with his tight-knit team. In the interview, he said of signing new talent: “We are extremely discerning,” before adding, “We have room, don’t get me wrong, for the right thing.”

A federal judge has rejected R. Kelly’s emergency request to be let out of prison due to an alleged jailhouse murder plot against the disgraced R&B star, who’s serving more than 30 years for multiple sex crime convictions.

Kelly’s attorney, Beau Brindley, has been petitioning a Chicago court for Kelly’s release since last week, saying prison guards are trying to have the singer (Robert Sylvester Kelly) killed to stop him from uncovering prosecutorial misconduct in his case. Brindley claims jail officials attempted to solicit a fellow inmate to carry out the hit, and that when that didn’t work, they fed Kelly an overdose quantity of sleeping pills and denied him medically-necessary surgery for blood clots.

Prosecutors have dismissed the allegations as a “fanciful conspiracy” and “deeply unserious.” Judge Martha M. Pacold denied the bid for release on Thursday (June 19) without addressing its merits, saying such a request must be brought as a civil rights lawsuit or habeas corpus petition in North Carolina, where Kelly is imprisoned.

“Jurisdictional limitations must be respected even where, as here, a litigant claims that the circumstances are extraordinary,” wrote the judge.

Judge Pacold issued her decision ahead of a hearing that had been set for Friday (June 20), canceling the court date after seemingly learning all she needed to know from voluminous court papers that have been filed on the issue.  

In a statement shared with Billboard on Thursday, Brindley said his team is “not surprised by this ruling as we knew that technical jurisdiction would be a challenge under these circumstances.”

“However, we had no choice but to act immediately given explicit evidence of a threat to Robert Kelly’s life,” Brindley added.

On Friday (June 20), Brindley tried another avenue to convince the Chicago judge to release Kelly: filing a motion for a new trial and asking for emergency bail in the meantime.

The Friday motion reiterates Brindley’s previous allegations that prosecutors unlawfully pressured a witness to testify against Kelly and intercepted Kelly’s communications with his lawyers ahead of his federal trial in Chicago.

“If someone dies in prison, it seems commonplace,” writes Brindley. “With that in mind, it becomes easy to understand how the people who committed this corruption and those that helped cover it up would rather kill a disgraced inmate convicted of sex crimes than face consequences that could ruin their lives and careers.”

The motion repeatedly notes that President Donald Trump is prioritizing rooting out corruption in the justice system. Brindley has publicly asked Trump to pardon Kelly in conjunction with the jailhouse murder plot claims.

A spokesperson for prosecutors did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday.

Kelly was convicted in Chicago of child pornography and enticing minors for sex in 2022, one year after a separate federal jury in New York also found the singer guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking

The former R&B star was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the New York conviction and 20 years in the Chicago case, though all but one year of the second sentence will overlap with the first. Both convictions have been upheld on appeal.