Generative AI music platform Suno has pulled a controversial ad starring Mary J. Blige after learning that the legendary singer hadn’t actually approved it.

In a statement shared with Billboard on Thursday (Sept. 3), a spokesperson for Suno said, “We entered into a business deal with someone who presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative.

“As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign,” it continued.

The spokesperson also said that Blige is “an icon who we all deeply admire” who “hasn’t stopped innovating.” “That’s why we wanted to work with her,” they added.

Billboard has reached out to Blige’s reps for comment.

The development comes after the nine-time Grammy winner appeared in a video posted by Suno that showed her listening as someone who appears to be a producer demonstrates the AI system’s capabilities. “I just process, because I don’t know what the hell y’all talking about,” she says in the clip posted at the end of August. “So I like to learn what you talking about. Now, it’s like, ‘Ah, OK, this is pretty dope,’ if we could play with it more and learn more of everything else going on. It’s pretty dope.”

Her apparent participation in the ad led to immediate backlash from fans and think pieces criticizing her choice to seemingly endorse Suno, one of the most polarizing companies in the music industry today. (See: Billboard‘s feature in March on the company titled “Is Suno the Music Industry’s Biggest Nightmare — or Greatest Hope?”)

In the past three days alone, Billboard has reported on three separate lawsuits against Suno concerning alleged infringement on artist rights. Jason Isbell filed a class action suit at the end of August accusing Suno of violating artists’ name, image and likeness rights, while independent Gerencia 360 Music claimed in a recent legal complaint that Suno had illegally trained its AI model using music owned by the label.

Suno, however, has always maintained that its training process is protected by copyright law’s fair use principle, which allows unlicensed works to be reused for transformative purposes.

Slayyyter might be actually kinda famous, but now she has something even better: a stamp of approval from Lady Gaga.

Mother Monster gave the pop singer a major shout-out in a new TikTok posted Thursday (Sept. 3), soundtracking a makeup tutorial with Slayyyter’s “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS.” In the video, Gaga shows off what she calls her “daily holy trinity” — concealer, contour and lip liner — while getting ready in under a minute.

But it was Gaga’s comments section that delivered the real crossover.

“I know Slayyyter is going to burst into flames when she sees her song was used,” one fan wrote underneath the video. Gaga then responded with possibly the only thing that could make the moment more exciting for Slayyyter: “I love Slayyyter,” followed by three black-heart emojis.

Slayyyter didn’t literally combust, but she did promptly freak out and respond. The rising pop star reposted Gaga’s comment to her Instagram Story, writing in all caps, “I LOVE GAGA.” But the crossover didn’t end there.

The singer later made her way into Gaga’s TikTok comments herself, writing, “OMG… OMG.” Gaga was quick to respond, and she couldn’t resist slipping in a reference to another Slayyyter song.

“You mean… Yes GODDD!!!! You’re the best,” Gaga wrote, alluding to Slayyyter’s WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA track “YES GODDD.”

This public declaration from one of pop music’s most prominent figures is just one of many prizes Slayyyter has collected within the year. She recently earned her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 when “brand new chanel$” charted at No. 98 during the week of Aug. 15. Her latest album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart.

So, yes, Gaga picked an especially appropriate soundtrack. “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS” is already one of the most deliciously self-aware titles in Slayyyter’s catalog. Now, one of pop’s biggest stars has given it a co-sign.

Take a look at the interaction below.

Ciara Miller might have found her perfect first dance song ahead of her Dancing With the Stars stint, thanks to Sabrina Carpenter fans.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight posted Wednesday (Sept. 2), the reality star reacted to audience members requesting that she and pro partner Brandon Armstrong break it down to “Taste” for their first televised performance on the competition. “Oh my gosh!” Miller gasped. “That is so funny. That is amazing.”

“The audience is messy!” she said, meanwhile the gears appeared to be turning in her head as she considered the possibility. “I love it. Messy boots.”

For the uninitiated, Miller’s personal life was thrust into the center of pop culture discourse earlier this year after it came out that her Summer House castmates Amanda Batula and West Wilson had begun an intimate relationship without her knowledge. Given that Batula was Miller’s good friend and Wilson was Miller’s ex, Miller felt a lot of hurt and betrayal over the situation — which she unleashed during a memorable, heated season reunion in May.

And as fans have evidently pointed out, “Taste” is the perfect song for the situation. “Now I’m gone, but you’re still layin’/ Next to me, one degree of separation,” Carpenter sings on the Short n’ Sweet track, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024. “I heard you’re back together, and if that’s true/ You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you.”

For the record, Armstrong is here for it as well. “I’m just here for support and vibes,” he told ET. “I’m just down.”

“We’re gonna leave it all out on the dance floor,” Miller added. “It’s gonna be healing. We’re gonna cry, we’re gonna laugh. It’s gonna be a good time.”

The interview comes on the same day the full DWTS season 35 cast was announced. In addition to Miller, Taylor Hanson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Maura Higgins, Harry Shum Jr., Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Tyler Cameron, Conner Leavitt and more will compete.

Watch Miller and Armstrong’s full conversation with ET below.

Even after dropping three albums in May, Drake isn’t satisfied.

He’s been teasing what appears to be a project titled Fear of Missing Out, and the 6 God officially set the rollout in motion on Thursday (Sept. 3) when he announced plans for a YouTube livestream slated for Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. ET.

Drizzy posted a Fear of Missing Out poster to Instagram and revealed the date of the livestream without any other details. The only other possible hints were an island and Ferris wheel emojis in the caption.

“You really said steak, lobster and shrimp, now we’re getting caviar. You’re making sure we’re well fed this year,” one fan wrote.

Other members of the OVO hive predicted that a single will arrive during the stream and an album will be in tow not too far down the line.

Drake made plenty of history in May when he released ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR in May, becoming the first to ever occupy the top three slots of the Billboard 200 albums chart simultaneously.

“Janice STFU” became the 14th Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit of Drizzy’s career, which broke a tie with Michael Jackson to give the 6 God the most among male soloists, as he charted a record-high of 42 songs on the chart in a single week.

ICEMAN topped the Billboard 200 to notch Drake his 15th No. 1, which broke a tie with Jay-Z for the most among rappers. ICEMAN has had staying power, as the album is spending a 13th week atop the Top Rap Albums chart, which is a career best for Drake.

Drizzy performed a few songs from ICEMAN in an arena setting for the first time on Monday night (Aug. 31), when he made a guest appearance at Don Toliver’s OCTANE World Tour stop in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena.

Find Drake’s Fear of Missing Out announcement below.

There is one very good sign pointing to a possible Oasis reunion tour sequel next summer: the lack of a major football tourney. At least according to songwriter/guitarist and co-founder Noel Gallagher. In a call-in chat with his good friends at England’s talkSPORT’s Drive this week, when asked by co-host Andy Goldstein if he could respond to fans about the potential need to start saving up for Oasis tickets — specifically for a return to Knebworth, a persistent rumor — even in a cryptic way, Gallagher gave the most Gallagher answer possible.

After a brief pause, Noel did what Noel does and he put it on younger brother, singer Liam Gallagher. “It’s Liam, innit? He’s not into it,” Noel said of the band’s mercurial vocalist. “He’s not?” Goldstein responded with some measure of caution. “He’s not into Oasis anymore,” Noel assured him.

When Goldstein noted that Liam had seemingly quit social media recently, Noel seemed surprised at the news about the vocalist notorious for generously answering fans’ queries, theories and trash talk with pointed quips on X. “Did he?” Noel said with a hearty laugh. “Yeah, I think he said, ‘I’m done.’ You didn’t know that?” Goldstein wondered.

He wasn’t wrong, on Aug. 25, Liam issued an all caps missive that read, “IM OUT OF HERE LOOK AFTER YOURSELVES AND REMEMBER DONT TALK TO S–T C–TS.” That said, just a day before Liam sent a not-so-coded message to Noel via the tweet, “ffs RKID announce the tour we’re all losing our minds.”

“Oh, well, then there must be something happening,” Noel said about the surprise social media leave-taking. “There must be something happening,” Gallagher continued, noting, “Well, let’s put it this way: there’s no football tournament next year, so we’ve got to do something in the summer, right?”

It wasn’t exactly a no, but neither was it a yes. And, to be fair, Noel is half-right. While there is no men’s soccer tourney next summer, the FIFA Women’s World Cup is taking place in Brazil in June and July. Just saying.

Regardless, Oasis have not officially confirmed another round of reunion dates to follow their triumphant Oasis Live ’25 tour, which featured 41 sold-out, rapturously received gigs across Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel amid a series of reports about a possible second run, including a potential return to the site of one of their greatest triumphs: a pair of 1996 gigs where they played to 250,000 over two nights at Knebworth in England.

At press time a spokesperson for the band had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on possible 2027 dates.

Before seemingly bouncing off his socials, last month Liam threw ice cold water on the incessant round two chatter, writing on X, “It’s not HAPPENING so all you croc wearing flag waving s–t c–ts can calm the f–k down.” And while that seemingly definitive statement appeared to shut down any talk of a second go-round after the band’s unexpected get-back following a legendarily nasty 2009 split, it’s worth noting that it’s not the first, or twelfth time, Liam has made a seemingly contradictory or negative statement about more dates.

At the end of the first run, during the final show in London on Sept. 29, 2025, Liam thanked the crowd and said teasingly, “Most of all, I wanna thank you lot for keeping the faith and putting this band back on the map … See you next year!”

Though the band has been off the radar since the final show on Nov. 23 in São Paulo, Brazil, they will be back, on movie screens anyway, next week when the reunion tour doc Don’t Look Back in Anger hits IMAX screen on Sept. 11 before screening on Hulu and Disney+ later this year.

Colin Kaepernick has finally responded to Jay-Z bringing him up during a freestyle on the first night of his Yankee Stadium residency back in July.

During a sit-down on Dateline NBC’s Before & After With Lester Holt airing Sept. 7, the former NFL quarterback spoke on his initial reaction to being name-dropped by the legendary rapper. “First and foremost, what it speaks to is power of people,” Kaepernick told Holt. “The backlash that [Jay-Z] received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026.”

He added, “People are now realizing, ‘Why are you so comfortable stepping into these positions that are counter to the positions that people on the ground actually want?’ And to me, I view that as speaking to a guilty conscience and trying to reposition or reframe the conversation.”

Jay used the freestyle in question to address critics of his exclusive Reasonable Doubt vinyl partnership with Target, as civil rights groups have been boycotting the store over lack of DEI initiatives.

“They run out of characters, had to bring back up Kap again,” the legendary rapper spit in regards to the backlash he’s received online. “Buddy took a check, I ain’t even mad at him, but along with that check you gotta sign a non-disparagement. I’m the one they can’t control, y’all better be glad it’s him. Half a billion back to the community, that’s just good math for him. I don’t listen to Twitter activists, they type and I laugh at them. It’s really no comparison, y’all check my stats again. I’m bringin’ folks back to they family, laws get passed ’cause him.”

NBC is also reporting that Kaepernick’s upcoming memoir The Perilous Fight will not be sold at Target stores.

Billboard has reached out to Jay-Z’s reps for comment.

Tim Curry‘s cause of death has been revealed in public health records obtained by People.

The publication reported Wednesday (Sept. 2) that the Rocky Horror Picture Show star died of coronary artery disease. The Los Angeles Department of Public Health document also apparently cited his stroke and a battle with kidney cancer as contributing factors to his death, though they were not the underlying cause.

According to Mayo Clinic, coronary artery disease impacts the “main blood vessels that supply blood to the heart,” leading to “reduced blood flow to the heart muscle.” It is usually caused by a “buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls” that narrows the arteries.

The public had previously been aware of Curry’s stroke, which occurred in 2012 and resulted in the performer using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He died on Aug. 25 at the age of 80 at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles.

The actor’s passing was confirmed to Billboard by Grand Central Publishing, which published his 2025 book, Vagabond: A Memoir. Curry’s longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz also shared in a statement at the time praising his “inimitable, flamboyant characters and colorful stage performances” as well as his “curious, expansive mind and generous, gentle heart, both of which remained open and filled with anticipation until his final breath.”

Curry’s talent and charisma live on in his body of work, which includes roles in Annie, It, Muppet Treasure Island, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and more.

Olivia Rodrigo has been quite the busy honeybee lately.

Fresh off the buzz of her inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival, the pop star headed to the Grammy Museum on Tuesday night (Sept. 1) for a conversation with filmmaker Cameron Crowe celebrating Olivia Rodrigo: “the cure” Unraveled, a new exhibit inspired by the tactile, handmade universe of her “the cure” music video.

Rodrigo spoke about the process behind the song and its music video’s cinematic details, but she also didn’t hesitate to dive right in to the behind-the-scenes process of her other songs and previous albums as well. Specifically, she touched on the pressure she dealt with surrounding her sophomore studio album GUTS, and why she learned to embrace joy — and imperfection — in her songwriting on You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.

Rodrigo’s first two albums set a high bar for the singer/songwriter, with both 2021’s SOUR and 2023’s GUTS debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Her latest LP, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, continued that streak, becoming her third consecutive chart-topper when it debuted atop the tally in June.

But while reflecting on the making of GUTS, Rodrigo admitted that following the massive success of her debut came with its share of challenges. “My second record, there was so much pressure,” she told Crowe. “There was so much anxiety, there were voices in my head.”

The experience stood in contrast to making You Seem Pretty Sad, which Rodrigo said allowed her to reconnect with the joy that first drew her to songwriting. “I just had so much fun making this record,” she said. “Music is so joyful for me. It is, like, my favorite thing in the world.”

Rodrigo said she hoped that newfound sense of freedom would shine in the finished product, adding, “I hope that joy and passion is palpable in the recordings because I just had a ball making them.”

That joy, however, didn’t mean Rodrigo abandoned the emotional complexity that has become a hallmark of her songwriting. The 23-year-old explained that she initially challenged herself to write more positive love songs for the album, only to discover that the songs she found most moving usually contained a bit of sadness.

“I think that’s why it’s called You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” she said. “Over the course of trying to write these love songs, I very quickly realized that what made my favorite love songs so moving is that there was a bit of melancholy in them, or there was a bit of fragility or something broken in the love song.”

Rodrigo also gave some advice for songwriters who are struggling to pinpoint and write down every single idea: Write through the bad ones.

The singer admitted that she writes far more than she realizes, ultimately ending up with pieces that remain unreleased. Sometimes, she finds herself salvaging a single lyric from a song that otherwise doesn’t make the cut.

“Sometimes I’ll write a really bad song with only one lyric that’s really great in it and then I’ll take that lyric and make something good out of it,” she said. “I try not to be precious. I think that perfectionism doesn’t serve you when you’re writing songs.”

This approach presents itself on her third studio album, especially considering the varied timelines behind its tracks. Rodrigo said “honeybee” came together quickly, while “stupid song” took roughly a year and a half to complete, with its production and melodies still being tweaked about a week before she had to turn in the album.

Rodrigo also traced the origins of “the cure” back to a day when she didn’t particularly feel like writing at all. Still, she pushed herself to pick up her guitar — a practice she attributed to “creative discipline” — and began playing a set of chords she loved.

The result became one of her favorite songs she has ever made, it helped drive the creative process behind her third album.

Rodrigo finished the night by performing five songs from the new set: “Drop Dead,” “Stupid Song,” “Maggots for Brains,” “Less” and, of course, “The Cure.”

Ye (formerly Kanye West) has been performing one-off shows all over the globe throughout 2026, and he’s added three more stadium dates in the U.S. before year’s end.

On Tuesday, Ye announced plans for concerts in Dallas, Houston and Phoenix. Fans can sign up to register for tickets on the Yeezy website, as an on-sale date has yet to be announced.

West will be celebrating spooky season with a Halloween show slated for Houston’s NRG Stadium on Oct. 31, before heading to Jerry’s World for a concert at the massive AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Nov. 7. The 49-year-old also has a show lined up in Phoenix, where he’ll take over State Farm Stadium on Nov. 21.

Ye will return home this week, Thursday (Sept. 3) and Friday (Sept. 4), for a pair of shows in Chicago at Soldier Field. In October, West will travel to Indonesia for a show on Oct. 24.

West hasn’t announced a full-length tour, but has been performing spot dates across the globe throughout 2026. He returned to Mexico for the first time in nearly two decades, when he performed two shows in Mexico City in January to kick off the year.

On the heels of Bully‘s arrival in March, Ye performed a pair of shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The April 1 and 3 dates grossed $32.6 million across 149,000 tickets sold, per Billboard Boxscore.

However, backlash remained and other entities weren’t as willing to forgive Ye for his controversies and repeated hate speech and antisemitic remarks since 2022, which axed lucrative deals West had with adidas, Universal Music Group, Gap and Balenciaga. Ye’s summer headlining gig at Wireless Fest in London was canceled after the U.K. denied him a visa to travel to the country. He also had a France show postponed and concerts in Italy, Russia and Poland canceled this year.

The 49-year-old has been able to book select dates in the U.S., which have included shows in Tampa Bay, San Antonio and New Orleans in 2026. Around the world, Ye’s performed in Kazakhstan, Georgia, Albania, Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands over the course of the year.

West released his Bully album through Gamma in March, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 152,000 total album-equivalent units.