Category: Viral

Over the weekend, I was given the privilege of attending Davido’s intimate underplay show here in Los Angeles, where he previewed songs from his upcoming album, 5ive. While he did play the expected singles, such as the previously released “Funds” and “Be There Still,” the AfroFuture headliner also gave the small crowd a preview of other songs from the album. It’s a pretty good project.

Last night, Davido shared the tracklist for 5ive, which not only includes the aforementioned singles, but also has tracks featuring the likes of Becky G, Musa Keys, Omah Lay, Shenseea, Victony, Victoria Monét, YG Marley, and more. “What songs are you excited about????” he asked of his 16 million followers on Twitter (never calling it “X,” be serious!). On Instagram, he shared a short video in which he walks across a desert alone until being flanked by dancers in colorful, furry costumes. “Legacy is not what you leave behind,” he writes in the caption. “But what you breathe into the future.”

The Afrobeats star is hosting his release party for the album in London, and will return to the UK in July for a stadium show in Tottenham, but for now, hasn’t revealed tour dates for 5ive just yet. That gives us even more to look forward to. For now, check out the tracklist below.

5ive is out 4/18 via Columbia Records, Sony Music Entertainment, and Davido Music Worldwide. Get more info here.

01. “Five By Alhanislam”
02. “Anything”
03. “Be There Still”
04. “CFMF”
05. “10 Kilo”
06. “Offa Me” Feat. Victoria Monét
07. “Don’t Know”
08. “R&B” Feat. Shenseea & 450
09. “Awuke” Feat. YG Marley
10. “Holy Water” Feat. Musa Keys & Victony
11. “Nuttin Dey”
12. “Titanium” Feat. Chris Brown
13. “Lately”
14. “Tek” Feat. Becky G
15. “Funds” Feat. Odumodublvck & Chike
16. “Lover Boy” Feat. TayC & Dadju
17. “With You” Feat. Omah Lay

One of the unexpected standout albums of 2024 was MIKE & Tony Seltzer’s Pinball. Pairing the normally low-stakes New York abstract rapper’s blunted musings with the Brooklyn producer’s more raucous audio backdrops, Pinball turned out to be an endearing subversion of audience expectations and an adventurous leap forward stylistically for MIKE.

Apparently, it worked so well, we’re getting a sequel. Today, MIKE and Tony released “Prezzy,” the kinetic first single from their upcoming joint project, Pinball 2. The song, which is co-produced by Clams Casino, is named after the Rolex Presidential watch and sees the usually introspective MIKE do some flexing, comparing himself to Tony Soprano, with one verse and a familiar anti-authoritarian refrain.

In the video, MIKE and Tony get tatted up and hang around a gas station late at night as MIKE delivers his uncharacteristically upbeat bars to the camera. You can watch it above.

Due on May 7 via 10k, Pinball 2 will feature co-production from Akachi, Dylvinci, Ivvys1, and MIKE himself. MIKE produces alongside Tony for the first time as DJ Blackpower. Pinball 2 is the prolific rapper’s second project of the year, following Showbiz!, his 10th solo album to date. He’s also headed on tour; you can find the dates below.

Pinball 2 is due on 5/7 via 10k Projects. You can find more info here.

MIKE Tour Dates

4/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ! % ^
4/17 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ! % ^
4/18 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
4/19 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground ! % #
4/20 – Charleston, SC @ Music Farm ! % #
4/22 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar ! % #
4/23 – Miami, FL @ Gramps ! % #
4/24 – Orlando, FL @ The Abbey ! % #
4/25 – Jacksonville, FL @ Underbelly ! % #
4/26 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse % * ~
4/27 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theatre @ *
4/29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head @ *
4/30 – Dallas, TX @ Tulips $ @
5/1 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) $ @
5/2 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk Outside $ @
5/3 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger $ @
5/5 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress $ △
5/6 – Phoenix, AZ @ Walter Studios $ △
5/7 – San Diego, CA @ Quartyard ♜ !
5/8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco ?
5/9 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst (Atrium) ♜ !
5/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall ♜ !
5/11 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s € + &
5/13 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl + &
5/14 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile + &
5/15 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre + &
5/16 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Basement + &
5/17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell + &
5/18 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre + &
5/20 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck + &
5/21 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge + &
5/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam £ ^
5/23 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall £ ^
5/24 – Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI £ ^
5/25 – Detroit, MI @ El Club ?
5/27 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop £ ︎
5/28 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House £ ︎
5/29 – Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre £ ︎
5/30 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club £ ︎
5/31 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza ?

? Very special guests
! Sideshow
% Niontay
^ semiratruth
# El Cousteau
* Mercury
~ Stahhr
@ Salami Rose Joe Louis
$ Liv.e
△ Ritchie
♜ Maxo
€ Camden Malik
+ Anysia Kym
& duendita
£ Navy Blue
︎ Mike Shabb
︎ 12k Gotti

Lorde recently indicated that some new music might be on the way, and she hasn’t made any sort of official announcement yet, but we do have some more indication.

As Billboard notes, Lorde just sent a three-minute audio message to fans via WhatsApp. The message (listen to it here) starts with Lorde speaking about communication and going to Coachella, and then she ends by saying:

“I just wanted to say hi because everything is about to change and these are really the last moments where it’s just us, which is crazy [laughs]. But so right, I’m so ready. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to say that, but I am. I’m so thankful for your patience. I’ve felt your love, I’ve felt you right there. And yeah, this is gonna be crazy. You have no idea [laughs]. OK, I love you so much. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Find a full transcript of the audio below.

“Oh my god, hi. I’m so glad I have your number now. I was really just like, ‘We have to be able to talk like this.’ This is what I’m… this is how I’m messages all day. I’m in the zone of not wanting to think too hard about how to communicate. I don’t want to be stressing about capturing the moment, the right language. What if it’s just about saying it, maybe getting it wrong, that being OK, you know. I think there, you know, there definitely will, there will be a place for the newsletter, because I love to write stuff, so much. But let’s just try this for a sec.

OK, I went to Coachella this weekend. Very fun. I was definitely feeling extremely seedy yesterday, but… well, just ashy, it’s like ashy energy. But it was cool, I like, you know, going into it, like having this little, this little taste out, this like 15 seconds. I was, you know, like I could feel it behind me and I was walking out over to the stage at dusk, thinking about all the Coachella’s that I’ve been at, you know, across like 12 years, and just thinking about how it’s this thing that can really make you, like, lose yourself. It’s so crazy and there’s all these people around and da da, know, everyone’s running around, but I felt so real and so solid, and like… yeah, I can just feel all that I kind of shared to be able to be in this, the way I am right now. It’s like it’s dusk in the desert. F*cking enjoy a bit, you know?

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi because everything is about to change and these are really the last moments where it’s just us, which is crazy [laughs]. But so right, I’m so ready. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to say that, but I am. I’m so thankful for your patience. I’ve felt your love, I’ve felt you right there. And yeah, this is gonna be crazy. You have no idea [laughs]. OK, I love you so much. I’ll talk to you soon.”

It’s not Valentine’s Day anymore, but you can still enjoy “Candy Gum.”

Emotional Oranges originally released “Candy Gum” featuring Jessie Reyez and Becky G on February 14, and now there’s a retro music video for the sweet and sensual song from the R&B duo.

Emotional Oranges’ Vali told Rolling Stone that “Candy Gum” is “one of my favorite songs off our debut album, so bringing it to life with Becky and Jessie was a dream,” continuing, “They’re not just badass performers, they’re kind, humble, and the most fun to work with. Literal icons. The video feels bold, sexy, beautiful, and unapologetically us… just waiting on Tarantino to turn it into a feature film.”

Reyez teased that there’s an intro they filmed that she hopes is released someday. “That sh*t was a movie,” she said. “We look like Charlie’s angels. Except instead of saying anything, we’re there to f*ck sh*t up.”

As for Emotional Oranges’ aforementioned debut album, the group’s Azad teased, “It’s one of those deserted island albums (prepare for a juicy cliche!) that if you found 50 years in the future, it’d paint an accurate picture of what growing up in the 2000s would sound like. And you’re getting it from 2 different perspectives from opposite coasts. Buckle up, buddy!”

You can watch the “Candy Gum” video above.

A few days ago, content creator Shawn Vandergriff took to Facebook to share an illustration (AI-generated, it appears) of his Mount Rushmore of white rappers, and the fictitious landmark includes rocky renderings of Eminem, Mac Miller, Paul Wall, and Russ.

Since then, the post had made the rounds online and some rappers have even chimed in. That most notably includes Machine Gun Kelly, who couldn’t believe he didn’t make the cut: “me not on the white rapper mt rushmore is blasphemy,” he tweeted.

Russ also commented on his inclusion, tweeting, “someone with a Facebook tell me how insane the comment section is [crying-laughing emojis].”

As for that comment section, the post generated plenty of feedback and debate. One user wrote, “With no MC search or beastie boys, this list is invalid.” Another said, “Its Eminem and all 3 Beastie Boys. Thats the only right answer.” Somebody else commented, “They forgot action bronsen.” Another user wrote, “Vanilla ice walked so they could run.” Somebody else wrote, “Man I love hip-hop from the roots up. But if you think Paul Wall is top 4 white rapper all time I don’t value your opinion.” Another said, “Eminem, MC Serch, Soul Khan, Action Bronson, El P, Lil Dicky, Aesop Rock, Yelawolf, Beastie Boys.”

Addison Rae is still best known as a TikTok star, but that should change on June 6. That’s the day her album drops, and based on early singles “Diet Pepsi,” “Aquamarine,” and “High Fashion,” she’s the real deal. Rae has a new single dropping this Friday, “Headphones On,” which she’s promoting the same she did with her album release date announcement at Coachella: on her underwear.

“Love you Coachella be right back!!!!!!” Rae wrote in a post she recently uploaded to Instagram. There’s also a photo dump, including one where she’s wearing pink and white underwear with the words “so I put my headphones on.” Those appear to be lyrics from “Headphones.”

The cheeky promo campaign didn’t stop there. News.com.au reports that Rae was spotted this week “climbing out of a car in Beverley Hills as she was heading to lunch with a friend… As she walked away from the cameras, she pulled up her dress to reveal her bright pink underwear underneath. The undies, sporting ‘So I put my headphones on,’ had ridden up her backside.”

If the paparazzi are going to follow you everywhere, might as well use it as an opportunity to promote your album. It’s cheaper than a billboard.

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon found himself in the Taylor Swift universe in the early 2020s when he and Swift collaborated on two of her songs: “Exile” from Folklore and the Evermore title track. It turns out, though, that those songs actually got their start in Vernon’s realm.

Vernon sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe for an interview that was shared yesterday (April 15), and in it, Vernon explained:

“Right in February there, we were going to go on a tour. This is 2020, so the timeline’s a little fuzzy, but stay with me. […] So Andrew Fitzpatrick, who was playing guitar in Bon Iver, was going to have a baby in April, did have a baby. And we were out a guitar player for our big European run that we were going to do for IMI. And I asked Aaron [Dessner], so Aaron was flying out to gigs, he was listening and rehearsing. He was in. And what we were going to do is have Aaron go out to the middle of these arenas and just play demos of Big Red Machine, new stuff. […] And then March 12th, the NBA season is cancelled and COVID really trips up. And so that tour pretty quickly gets cancelled. And it’s a brick wall for everybody, especially in music. […]

Somewhere around that time, like everybody, like me, Aaron was going on Instagram Live and just playing stuff he’s been working on, because I think we just needed to share. And Taylor heard it. Again, all the glory goes to Taylor for hearing, as a songwriter, what music she wants to make, but those songs are Big Red Machine demos at their core.”

He continued, “Her genius was working with the genius of Aaron Dessner on making the strongest set of lyrics and songwriting that she’s ever had, really. And so during that process, I’m just sort of watching it happen. And to me, it was very much like seeing Taylor enter our whole universe. Of course, there’s no one bigger and we all bowed down to her, you know. But to see her come into that, it was almost like I couldn’t stop blinking. […] And then Aaron hits me up and is like, ‘So Bud-o, I think there’s a song that Taylor would like you to sing.’ And I was like, ‘Taylor?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I haven’t told you yet, but [we’re] taking some of the songs and she’s writing to them.’”

Watch the full interview above.

Musicians are seemingly lining up to have their lives turned into a film. But legendary group TLC has already crossed that off their storytelling list back in 2013. So, the “Waterfalls” musicians had to find another creative outlet to document their professional journey–a theatrical production

After years of teasing, TLC’s “mostly” autobiographical musical CrazySexyCool has an official premiere date. Yesterday (April 15), producer Bill Diggins’ Diggit Theatrical Group announced the piece will make its theatrical debut in 2026 at Washington, DC’s Arena Stage.

Written and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah (One Love: The Bob Marley Musical) and choreographed by Chloe Davis (Gypsy), Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas’ tale of sisterhood, “defiance, triumph, and love” will be put on full display as soundtracked by their hit “Waterfalls,” “Creep,” “Unpretty,” and “No Scrubs.”

In a statement shared with Billboard, Diggins, T-Boz, and Chilli expressed their excitement for the production.

“TLC completely changed the game,” said Diggins. “Their music gave a voice to women everywhere, empowering them to be confident and unapologetic. But this isn’t just a story about the music; it’s about the sisterhood between these women and what kept them together through both unimaginable challenges and chart-topping success.”

T-Boz chimed in to say: “Bringing this story to the stage is a dream come true. We have performed in a lot of different venues all over the world throughout our career, but bringing our story and music to the theater is a totally new and exciting challenge.”

That notion was echoed by Chilli. “We have some of the best people in the business working on this project,” she added. “Audiences will get to hear our story – mostly fact with a sprinkle of fiction – told in our own way, and of course it’s set to all your favorite hits!”

CrazySexyCool – The Musical will show at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater in Washington, DC, between June 12 and August 9, 2026. Find more information here.

Later this month, Wilco will kick off their family affair of a tour, Sweet And Sour Spring. Today (April 15), the “Hot Sun” musicians announced the expansion of their performance offerings this summer.

If you don’t have the patience for a music festival or even a show filled with supporting acts, Wilco has something tailored specifically for you. In August, the group will put on a string of laser focused show titled, An Evening With Wilco.

The concerts (which encourages ticket holders to submit setlist song requests) are aimed a hardcore Wilco fans. Across the shows, Wilco will perform their classic tunes as well as plenty of b-side fan favorites. As the shows’ title suggests, the concert will not feature any opening acts. Instead, Wilco promised concertgoers two sets with a short intermission in-between.

The An Evening With Wilco presale is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. local time. On Saturday, April 19 at 10:00 a.m. local time the general sale will kick off. Find more information here. Continue below to view the full An Evening With Wilco show schedule.

Wilco’s 2025 Tour Dates: An Evening With Wilco

08/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
08/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
08/07 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Cain Park Evans Amphitheater
08/10 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Fairgrounds)
08/12 – Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory
08/13 – Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theatre
08/14 – Kansas City, MO @ The Midland Theatre
08/16 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
08/17 – Vail Village, CO @ Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
08/19 – Jackson Hole, WY @ Snow King Mountain
08/20 – Ogden, UT @ Ogden Amphitheater
08/22 – Bonner, MT @ KettleHouse Amphitheater
08/24 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre
08/25 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre
08/27 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum, Chevrolet Stage
08/29 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
08/30 – Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

Coco Jones is ready to make her first full length statement as an artist. Later this month, the “ICU” singer’s debut studio album, Why Not More?, will hit streaming platforms.

With less than two weeks until it drops, Coco Jones has given into fans demands for more details about the body of work. Today (April 15), Jones unveiled the official tracklist for using a glamorous mirror trick.

In the clip (viewable here), Jones touches up her makeup while taking a phone call. During the chat with a friend, their conversation effortlessly weaved the names of each song.

Followers of Jones’ praised her for the creativity displayed in the rollout as it highlighted her skills as both an actress and songwriter.

Continue below to view the full tracklist and artwork for Coco Jones’ forthcoming album, Why Not More?.

Tracklist

1. “Here We Go (Uh Oh)”
2. “Other Side Of Love”
3. “Hit You Where It Hurts”
4. “Keep It Quiet”
5. “Thang 4 U”
6. “AEOMG”
7. “Why Not More?” featuring YG Marley
8. “On Sight”
9. “Taste”
10. “Nobody Exists”
11. “Most Beautiful Design” featuring Future and London On Da Track
12. “You”
13. “Forever Don’t Hit Like Before”
14. “By Myself”

Artwork

Why Not More? is due on 4/25 via Def Jam Recordings. Find more information here.