Category: Music

Gina Ortiz Jones, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, is pushing for the cancellation of Kanye West’s Fourth of July concert at the Alamodome. Ye announced the show last week, and tickets are currently available via Ticketmaster at prices ranging from $127.50 for a standard admission, upper-level seat to $1,461.25 for the “YE – Front Row Experience,” a row-one seat in the lower level of the stadium closest to the floor.

On Saturday night (June 20), the San Antonio Democrat, a U.S. Air Force veteran, shared her stance on Ye’s scheduled event in the south-central Texan city, citing the musician’s history of hate speech and antisemitic remarks as reason for the Alamodome — which can accommodate a crowd of more than 70,000 with an in-the-round concert layout like that of Ye’s globe-shaped stage — to pull the plug on the Independence Day booking.

“I support canceling the @kanyewest concert,” she wrote in a post on X.

“Military City USA should not host someone with a record of hate speech and antisemitic comments in a city-funded facility like our Alamodome—not ever, and certainly not on July 4th, our Nation’s 250th birthday,” Ortiz Jones said.

The San Antonio mayor added, “Standing up to antisemitism is exactly what it takes to achieve a more perfect Union.”

Ye’s July 4 San Antonio date lands in the middle of concerts in Tampa, Florida (June 26, 28), and Tirana, Albania (July 11). The rapper’s summer mini tour — as it stands right now — then brings him to Madrid, Spain (July 30), and Algarve, Portugal (Aug. 7), before routing back to the U.S. for a pair of homecoming shows in Chicago, Illinois (Sept. 3-4). He hasn’t had an official full-scale tour in this decade.

Though West has successfully put on his show this year in Mexico City and Los Angeles, and in cities in Turkey, the Netherlands and Georgia, he’s also had shows pulled in England, Poland and France.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida recently called for Ye’s performances to be called off in Tampa.

Scott wrote in a statement on June 4, “Kanye West’s consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough community. He has openly praised Nazis, called himself one, and slandered Jews across the world. Kanye West also funded a Superbowl ad in 2025 that directed viewers to purchase merchandise featuring swastikas.”

“West’s remarks are vile and a slap in the face to our state’s Jewish community,” said the senator. “It is troubling that a stadium supported by taxpayer dollars would openly subsidize an event led by an artist known for pushing this dangerous, hateful rhetoric, especially with Florida having one of the largest Jewish populations in our country.”

On Friday, Ye released a deluxe edition of his latest album, Bully, featuring updated mixes of its original tracks and new songs “OK” (featuring Don Toliver) and “Mission Control.”

Bebe Rexha isn’t interested in turning female artists into competitors.

The singer recently pushed back after a social media user attempted to compare her commercial success to Olivia Rodrigo’s, whose third studio album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and shattered streaming records.

The exchange began after Rexha shared a heartfelt tribute to late artist Oliver Tree on social media, revealing that the pair had recorded a song together for her latest album, Dirty Blonde, that ultimately didn’t make the final tracklist.

“I’m in shock. I was in the middle of my cd signing in nyc when I found the news of Oliver tree. I can’t believe it,” she wrote. “We recorded a record together to be on dirty blonde. He was so smart. Passionate. Talented. Kind. I’m so sad. May he rest in peace.”

But the conversation quickly veered off course when one commenter replied: “Olivia outsold u btw.”

Rather than taking the bait, Rexha answered: “I’m actually happy for her. No need to put women against each other. Stream DIRTY BLONDE for women empowerment. Livies X Rexhars.”

The response was widely praised by fans, with many applauding the singer for rejecting the increasingly common trend of framing women in pop as rivals.

The “I’m Good (Blue)” singer also made headlines last year after publicly criticising former collaborator G-Eazy, with whom she scored a major hit on 2015’s “Me, Myself & I.”

“I have been UNDERMINED. I’ve been so quiet for the longest time,” she wrote on social media at the time. “I haven’t seen the signs even though people constantly are bringing them up and they have been SO OBVIOUS. And when I have spoken up I’ve been silence and PUNISHED by this industry Things must change or I’m telling ALL of my truths. The good the bad and the ugly. (sic)”

The pop star later removed the post and added: “Someone from my team had me take down my Instagram Story,” she explained.

For now, however, Rexha seems focused on celebrating fellow female artists rather than competing with them.

Iron Maiden are enforcing a phone-free standing area at their Paris show on Monday (June 22), confirming the La Défense Arena performance will be filmed for their forthcoming Run For Your Lives Tour concert film.

The band announced the policy via social media on Friday (June 19), sharing a step-by-step graphic guide for using Yondr pouches — the lockable phone storage devices that have become the live music industry’s go-to solution for phone-free shows.

Fans in the standing and General Admission area will have their devices locked in pouches upon entry, with the pouches remaining with the fan at all times throughout the night. Designated phone-use areas will be available within the arena for emergencies, and physical payment cards will be required at bars and merchandise stands.

The band’s social media caption confirmed the policy directly: “The standing/General Admission area in La Défense Arena will be entirely phone-free to make sure the experience is optimal for the live recording of the Run For Your Lives Tour film. Yondr pouches will be provided upon entry to the venue to store your mobile device during the show. Your device will be locked in the pouch on arrival and unlocked when you leave at the end of the night.”

Iron Maiden have been consistent advocates for phone-free concerts throughout the Run For Your Lives Tour, having told fans to “put your phones away” ahead of the run’s launch in 2025. The enforcement for the Paris filming makes that preference official policy for what will be one of the tour’s most documented nights.

The Run For Your Lives World Tour was announced in September 2024 as a global celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary since forming in Leyton, East London in 1975, with the setlist focused on material from their first nine studio albums. The run has been one of the most commercially successful rock tours of the cycle — Billboard ranked it in the Top 3 of its Top Rock Tours 2025 chart, with the band generating approximately $150.9 million in revenue across 1.5 million tickets sold. The 2026 European leg, which includes the Paris filming date, represents the latest chapter of an expanded campaign that has since added North American, Central and South American, and Oceania dates. Iron Maiden will tour Australia in November — their final shows of the tour before a 2027 touring hiatus — with extra shows added due to demand.

The Run For Your Lives setlist has drawn heavily on fan favourites and rarities, including “Infinite Dreams” from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, played live for the first time in 38 years. The set typically includes “The Number of the Beast,” “Run to the Hills,” “The Trooper,” “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Aces High,” “Fear of the Dark” and “Wasted Years.”

One of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands in history, Iron Maiden have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and placed 29 titles on the Billboard 200, including four top 10 entries. Their most recent studio album Senjutsu (2021) debuted at No. 3 — their highest-ever U.S. chart position — while The Book of Souls (2015) and The Final Frontier (2010) both peaked at No. 4.

Travis Kelce seemed to have the time of his life vibing to the beat and shouting out to a crowd of more than 20,000 at Chris Lake‘s L.A. Historic Park show by Goldenvoice and Framework Friday night (June 19).

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, who’s engaged to Taylor Swift, showed up to night one of Lake’s special two-night sold-out event at Los Angeles State Historic Park, with a source telling Billboard Kelce shared a VIP table with teammates and friends ahead of getting on the mic beside Lake.

Lake’s got musical ties to the pop star, as he previously remixed Life of a Showgirl single “Opalite.”

In reels from the show shared by concertgoers @mightrave and @bodybybina on Instagram, Kelce’s seen on stage, trying to hype the room before letting loose a wild scream over the soundsystem.

And in a clip posted by Framework, who co-produced the event that spanned Friday-Saturday night with Goldenvoice, Kelce’s seen jumping and dancing with glee at Lake’s side, surrounded by bubbles filling the air.

Swift was not present at the show with her fiancé, and was rumored to be having ladies’ weekend with friends at her Watch Hill property in Westerly, R.I., on Saturday. The pair are, so it seems, set to wed very soon: Swifties wondered if New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani possibly confirmed gossip last week that the couple will tie the knot in Manhattan over the Fourth of July. A city official said Mamdani’s comment was only based on a TMZ report that Swift applied for a permit at Madison Square Garden for the July 4 weekend.

Lake’s show in L.A. on Friday featured supporting acts Ayybo, Ragie Ban and Kitty. Saturday’s lineup, led by Lake again, also has Hot Since 82, Club de Combat and Strawbry on the bill.

Lake reworked the pure pop of Swift’s “Opalite” into a club-ready track back in January after connecting with Kelce over Instagram DM; the NFL player told him his 2025 album Chemistry was a favorite. In creating his version of Swift’s release, Lake told Billboard in March that he had to figure out how to pair the “vibe and the sentiment of the song with the beats from my world, and make [the remix] make sense as something that would fit amongst other songs from my world without it standing out like a sore thumb.”

“Pretty much 99.9% of all the music I’ve ever played or made in my life is with minor chords,” Lake said. “To work with a vocal that wasn’t written to be used that way was really challenging. That’s the bit I’m actually the most happy with… If you listen to the original and to the feel of how her chorus comes in, it’s very happy and uplifting, whereas in the remix, I don’t know what emotion you’d call it, but maybe it’s sort of hauntingly emotive. It makes you feel a completely different way. Then the way it launches into the drop, I haven’t done that on a remix before. I’m really proud of it.”

Ariana Grande‘s Petal tracklist is here.

After rolling out Petal‘s song titles bit by bit on her Eternal Sunshine Tour, the entire song set was confirmed via the show’s big screen Friday (June 19) in Inglewood, Calif.

Grande shared a reel of the tracklist’s unveiling on Instagram after her third night at Kia Forum.

Petal‘s lead single, “Hate That I Made You Love Me” — which is the second track on the album — debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release earlier this month. Early June also marked the launch of Grande’s tour, which makes its way throughout the U.S. over the summer and runs through Sept. 1 in London. To date, “Hate That I Made You Love Me” is the only new song from Petal to make the show’s setlist.

The track is surrounded by opener “Kiss Me” and the collection’s title track, “Petal,” on the album’s full song list. “Big Feelings” and “Freak” mark the midway point of the LP, while a tune called “Nowhere, Nobody” closes things out. The followup to Grande’s Billboard 200 chart topper Eternal Sunshine (2024), Petal will officially be released on July 31.

See the Petal tracklist, stylized as shown at Grande’s show, below:

1. “kiss me”
2. ⁠”hate that i made you love me”
3. “petal”
4. ⁠”stay”
5. ⁠”oh well”
6. “⁠big feelings”
7.” ⁠”freak”
8. “⁠(warning signs)”
9. ⁠”like i do”
10. ⁠”never get over me”
11. ⁠”bad thing (bunny hop)”
12. ⁠”nowhere, nobody”

Ella Langley is opening up about the role faith has played in her life.

During a stop on her Dandelion Tour on Thursday (June 18), the 27-year-old country singer paused her concert at Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City to deliver a heartfelt message to fans about overcoming struggles and finding purpose through God.

In fan-captured footage from the show, Langley began by telling the crowd that she reads the Bible “almost every single day” and explained that she now turns to her faith rather than other destructive coping mechanisms.

“Instead of trying to go to other things like I have before — either men or drugs or other feelings — to try and make myself feel a certain way, I go to him first,” the singer-songwriter said, pointing toward the sky.

Langley then reflected on a difficult period in her life.

“Last year I didn’t think I wanted to be here anymore,” she said. “And when I’m standing here right now, I’m so grateful for the day that I was given today. The only thing that has changed my mind on that situation is our God.”

The “Choosin’ Texas” hitmaker did not elaborate on the challenges she faced last year, but in August 2025 she canceled multiple opening dates on tours with Morgan Wallen and Riley Green to focus on her health.

Billboard has reached out to Langley’s representatives for additional comment.

“The thing I thought I was cut out to do my whole entire life, I didn’t know if I could do it,” she told the crowd, adding that it can be difficult to face criticism on social media when others do not know what someone is experiencing behind the scenes.

“But I’ll tell you right now, the thing that changed my mind is I realized that I have a purpose in this life,” the singer continued. “And my purpose is to stand up here, share my testimony, to be honest with my crowd, to be honest with my fans, to write the best songs that I can write, to put on the best show that I can put on, and that’s all I can do.”

Langley closed her remarks with an encouraging message to the audience.

“I just want you to remember that there’s one North Star and we all know who that is,” she said. “So if you just wake up and focus on that every day, you give 1% better than you gave the day before, you’re going to get through it. And you’re going to be back to living life, I promise you.”

Langley has made historic strides on the Billboard charts, recently becoming the first woman to earn three simultaneous top 10 hits on the Country Airplay chart with “Be Her,” “Choosin’ Texas” and her Wallen collaboration, “I Can’t Love You Anymore.”

Langley’s sophomore album, Dandelion, also spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200 in April. Her tour in support of the project continues through August.