They were born to express themselves. And over the course of a yearslong feud with one another, Lady Gaga and Madonna did exactly that.
In 2011, a disagreement between two of pop’s biggest stars began when Gaga released her LGBTQ+ anthem “Born This Way.” Madonna fans were quick to point out the track’s melodic and lyrical similarities to Madonna’s 1989 classic “Express Yourself.” It didn’t take long for Madge herself to join in on the conversation, with the Queen of Pop going on public record the next year and calling “Born This Way” “reductive.”
And thus, years of public rivalry between the two was ignited.
But everything is not what it seems — not even clear and publicly made digs lobbed at one another. In the years following the OG disagreement, Lady Gaga and Madonna have gone on to both throw a few verbal punches at one another and extend olive branches to their rival. Like most petty disagreements —especially ones clearly stoked by the drama-driven celebrity gossip machine — the feud between the two artists eventually calmed down. Seven years after it began, the drama was officially declared dead when the stars posed for a pic together at Madonna’s exclusive Oscars afterparty in 2018.
Now, 15 years after the initial dispute, Lady Gaga and Madonna are rumored to be collaborating on a new song for the Devil Wears Prada 2 soundtrack. While we don’t know the truth yet, we do know that Gaga (with Doechii) is featured on the soundtrack with the original song “Runway” and Madonna’s 1990 smash “Vogue” appeared in the original movie and has soundtracked much of the sequel’s pre-release promo.
As we impatiently await to see if a collaboration is real or just another rumor added to all the gossip surrounding these two pop legends, Billboard is taking a looking back at the timeline of Lady Gaga and Madonna’s relationship.
Looks like Journey almost went their separate ways two years ago.
In a new statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Journey co-founder and lead guitarist Neal Schon seemingly replied to frontman Arnel Pineda‘s claims that he was prohibited from quitting the band twice.
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“There’s been some recent press and speculation that doesn’t reflect the full picture,” Schon writes.
Though he does not specify what recent press he’s referring to, his statement comes days after a March 31 Rolling Stone feature on his band that quotes Pineda sharing that he almost didn’t join Journey on their current farewell tour. Pineda claims that in 2024, he asked his bandmates to confer with him if they decide to do farewell shows and discuss the schedule with him. He cites age and “personal problems” as major factors in his decision to tour or not. He then alleges that the band went ahead and scheduled the 60-date tour without consulting him.
“It is what it is now…. But then, I was really not happy with how they scheduled this tour,” Pineda says in the article. He then claims that he sent an unhappy email to his bandmates to which they didn’t reply. In response to the silence, Pineda says he told the other Journey members not once but twice that he wanted to leave the group and retire. Again, they did not respond, Pineda alleges.
The article then shares that both Schon and Pineda recognized that quitting the band is not as simple as it seems. They both say that their contract with live entertainment giant AEG prohibits the band from touring without Pineda. It’s a sentiment that is also echoed in Schon’s Facebook statement.
“Touring at this level involves many moving parts, and decisions are made collectively with our team, including management, agents, and promoters,” Schon writes before acknowledging that with any band that’s been around for a long time, different members may feel different pressures in different ways. He then says that he personally did not prohibit anyone from leaving the band. “For clarity, no one was ever prevented by me from making their own personal decisions.”
Schon continues by citing the same AEG contract that was brought up in the Rolling Stone feature: “At the same time, we were all advised by our representatives that there are contractual obligations tied to touring that need to be honored.”
The guitarist concludes by saying his focus is on providing fans with “the best possible experience and keeping the music alive.”
Journey’s Final Frontier Tour is set to continue into August with dates across the U.S. and a stop in Vancouver.
Cardi B doesn’t play when it comes to her money, and she noticed a couple of suspicious charges on her American Express card, which led her to reveal she was the victim of credit card fraud.
Even though she’s in the midst of the madness of life on tour, Cardi is still keeping tabs on her expenses. The Bronx native hopped on Instagram Live on Monday (April 6) to detail how she found out that four people had her credit card and went on a little shopping spree for $60,000 at Saks and Apple within an hour.
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“I got clear pictures. As soon as I saw that notification, I was like, ‘Saks $40,000, what the f—?’ Then, when I saw that Apple sh–, because like who the f— is spending $20,000 at Apple? If I get your address before the people doing this investigation, because they got pictures of y’all, I’mma get y’all beat the f— up,” she said. “Word to my mother, I’m gonna get my n—as to spank the sh– outta y’all.”
Cardi continued: “Y’all went to Chase, y’all went to Saks, y’all went to Apple. B—h, y’all going to jail… I got clear pictures of motherf—–s trying to get money out of a Chase… Y’all tried it. I got clear pictures of y’all in Saks and I got clear pictures of y’all in Apple. One thing about me, I don’t play about my f—–g money.”
It’s still unclear how they obtained her AMEX card numbers. The Grammy-winning rapper then described the looks of the alleged thieves that she claims to have photo evidence of. “One of you is bald-headed, with a very thick beard,” she asserted, before again promising that the culprits will be going to jail.
Cardi is in the home stretch of her Little Miss Drama Tour, which will be making stops this week in Philly, Washington, D.C., Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Not every hitmaker stays in one lane. Pharrell Williams has taken on several across the Billboard Hot 100.
Across decades, he has crafted hits as a writer, producer and performer, starting as one-half of The Neptunes and later as a solo star. At a time when producers rarely received the spotlight, Pharrell’s signature often came not through a vocal tag, but through a now-familiar four-count intro, producing songs you can instantly recognize, including “Milkshake” by Kelis and “Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious)” from the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
His first Hot 100 No. 1 came as a co-writer and producer on “Hot in Herre” by Nelly in 2002, marking an early breakthrough for The Neptunes’ minimalist, rhythm-forward sound. He soon stepped further into the spotlight as a performer, joining Snoop Dogg on “Drop It Like It’s Hot” in 2004, which topped the charts with Pharrell as a featured artist. By the 2010s, Williams was credited as a performer, writer and producer on “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke featuring T.I., which reigned atop the Hot 100 for 12 weeks in 2013. The song’s success helped usher in his biggest solo moment: “Happy,” originally featured in Despicable Me 2, became a 10-week No. 1 in 2014 and cemented Pharrell as a chart-topping artist in his own right.
Beyond his recordings, Williams has gone on to push himself creatively in other ways — from starring in the 2024 animated LEGO documentary Piece by Piece, which explores his beginning and career, to even being appointed men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton.
In honor of the man who can do it all, here’s a look at every Hot 100 No. 1 hit he’s helped create.
Summer is almost here and, from the looks of it, Ariana Grande can’t wait. The singer and Oscar-nominated Wicked: For Good star posted a series of pics on Monday (Apr. 6) from rehearsals for her upcoming Eternal Sunshine tour with her dancers.
In the first pic, Grande flashes a bright smile as she sits on the floor flanked by her dance team, her legs crossed in front of her, feet clad in ballet flats with a caption reading, “See you in two months @brighterrdays.” Subsequent pics show the crew in a dance studio chilling out, including a sideways close-up of Grande’s face bathed in red and a group shot of the singer surrounded by 10 of her crew as they all flash smiles and lean in.
The final two snaps are close-ups of all their feet pushed into a tight circle.
Grande announced the tour in support of her 2025 Eternal Sunshine album last August, revealing the dates for her first run of show since 2019’s Sweetener world tour. “I think my fans know that music and being on stage will always be a part of my life,” she told Variety in 2024 when asked whether she planned to tour Eternal Sunshine in between her work on the Wicked films. “I think the next few years, hopefully we’ll be exploring different forms of art, and I think acting is feeling like home right now.”
The 41-show run is slated to kick off with the first of three shows at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on June 6 and include stops in Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston, Montreal and Chicago before a hop over to London for a 10-night run at the O2 Arena in London from Aug. 15-Sept. 1.
Global Citizen is taking its music events even more, well, global. On Monday (April 6), Billboard can exclusively reveal the performers at Global Citizen’s first-ever music event in Japan — Global Citizen Live: Tokyo.
Nine-piece Japanese boy band &TEAM will headline the big day. &TEAM is the first Japanese group to sign with the Korean record label HYBE. The band first debuted in late 2022 with First Howling: Me and in the years since has gone on to top the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, be included in a Grammy Museum exhibit on HYBE and win an MTV Video Music Award in Japan.
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Also hitting the stage are Ai and Yuki Chiba. Ai is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter and rapper and was the first woman to be signed to Def Jam Japan. Ai has had collaborations with artists like Snoop Dogg, The Jacksons and Chaka Khan and now serves as a Global Citizen Cultural Champion. Yuki Chiba was the first-ever Japanese artist to perform at the MTV VMAs. Chiba is a singer, rapper and producer who has collaborated with artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Feid and Big Sean. Radio personality Chris Peppler will join the performers as the host of Global Citizen Live: Tokyo and more acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
Since its founding in 2008, Global Citizen has deployed nearly $50 billion in movements worldwide. The platform’s mission has been amplified by campaigns and events in the entertainment industry, including its regular live music events. Over the years, Global Citizen’s concerts have brought some of the biggest names in music to the stage, including Beyoncé, BTS, Ed Sheeran, Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more.
Global Citizen Live: Tokyo will take place June 18 at the Tokyo International Forum. Leading up to the event, fans can earn points towards rewards like free tickets by downloading the Global Citizen app and taking action on some of the issues the platform advocates for such as global health and climate change. Tickets are available for purchase now from eplus and LAWSON TICKET. Funds from tickets from Global Citizen Live: Tokyo will go towards the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative to provide at least 100,000 children worldwide with better education access before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Lady Gaga took to her social accounts Monday (April 6) to let fans know she had to cancel her third of three nights of her Mayhem Ball tour at Montreal’s Bell Centre that night due to an ongoing respiratory infection.
“I’m so sorry to share that I’m unable to perform tonight and have to cancel the show,” Gaga’s message reads in part. “I’ve been fighting a respiratory infection for the past few days and doing everything I can to rest and recover, but it’s gotten worse. My doctor has strongly advised me not to perform today and to be honest I don’t think I could give you the quality of a performance today that you deserve.”
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She went on to say how “deeply disappointing” it is and she “truly could not feel worse about letting you down.”
“I’m so sorry to everyone who made plans to be there and support me,” she concluded the message.” “Being in Montreal and performing for you on Thursday and Friday was magical and deeply meaningful. To everyone who was coming tonight, I’m absolutely heartbroken and so sorry.”
As Gaga said, she performed two concerts at the end of last week as part of her ongoing Mayhem Ball tour, which kicked off in Las Vegas in July 2025 and is set to wrap up this month, on April 13, with a hometown show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Read Gaga’s full message to fans below:
Hi everyone. I’m so sorry to share that I’m unable to perform tonight and have to cancel the show. I’ve been fighting a respiratory infection for the past few days and doing everything I can to rest and recover, but it’s gotten worse. My doctor has strongly advised me not to perform today and to be honest I don’t think I could give you the quality of a performance today that you deserve.
I know how deeply disappointing this is, and I truly could not feel worse about letting you down. I’m so sorry to everyone who made plans to be there and support me. Being in Montreal and performing for you on Thursday and Friday was magical and deeply meaningful.
To everyone who was coming tonight, I’m absolutely heartbroken and so sorry.
It’s become part of the American Idol production schedule. On a mid-week day in April of each year, the top contestants file one by one into an office on the lot where Idol is live, to speak with Billboard. The sessions begin at 10 a.m. and conclude around 5 p.m. It’s right there on the printed rundown along with vocal coach meetings and lunch breaks: the Idols talk to Billboard.
For a group of people whose ages range from 18 to 29, the finalists were very poised this year, as if they had been doing interviews for decades. They spoke from the heart, sometimes revealing deeply personal issues, sometimes just talking about their musical heroes, how they listen to music and their favorite Idols of seasons past.
Their choices for favorite alums ranged from season 1 to season 23. The most nods went to inaugural winner Kelly Clarkson, favored by six finalists. Carrie Underwood and Jamal Roberts were each cited five times. Receiving four mentions were Fantasia and Phillip Phillips and with three each were Jennifer Hudson, Scotty McCreery, Slater Nalley and Ruben Studdard.
Billboard first observed the season 24 hopefuls in person in Hawaii in January, when there were 30 competitors still in the fight. Twenty survived the three episodes produced at Aulani, the Disney Resort and Spa on Oahu. That number went down to 14 after the first live show of the season.
The top 11 of season 24 were just minted minutes ago on Monday (April 6) night. Here are the first in-depth profiles of this group, supplemented by three finalists who were eliminated on tonight’s live broadcast.