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‘It’s Just Catchy As Hell’: Tinashe & Disco Lines on Their Summer (And Fall) Smash ‘No Broke Boys’

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It was the evening of Aug. 3, and Tinashe and Disco Lines were enjoying the perks of their success.

Sitting in a hot tub in Las Vegas with a crew of friends and family, the pair raised glasses of Dom Pérignon and toasted accomplishing the rarest of feats — making the rare dance crossover hit.

Earlier in the day they’d performed this song together live for the first time ever poolside at the city’s lavish Fontainebleau resort — with Tinashe sauntering around onstage in stilettos and singing while Disco Lines worked the decks and the crowd before them bounced along to the beat.

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Widely considered dance music’s — maybe any music’s — 2025 song of the summer, the duo’s teamup “No Broke Boys” has spent the last 11 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 39 and currently situated at No. 41. It’s generated 91.2 million on-demand official U.S. streams and 292.8 million on-demand official global streams, according to Luminate. In August, it ascended to the No. 1 spot on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, unseating Marshmello and Kane Brown‘s “Miles On It” which had been holding down the top spot for more than a year. It also reached No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay in August and is now at No. 3 in its 14th week on the chart.

The song has also gone top 20 on 13 of Luminate’s International Charts, peaked at No. 2 on The Official U.K. Singles Chart and hit No. 7 on the Canadian Hot 100.

“I think it’s just catchy as hell,” Tinashe says of what’s driving the song’s success during a group Zoom with Billboard and Disco Lines “It’s fun for the summertime. It’s got that energy. It’s very tongue-in-cheek. It gets people going.”

The song is a take on the penultimate track from Tinashe’s 2024 album Quantum Baby, with the Disco Lines collab dialing up the BPM, adding an urgent synth production and loading up the track with bright and bouncy electronic flourishes. This version went viral after Disco Lines, the Colorado-born whose real name is Thadeus Labuszewski, played it during a set at EDC Las Vegas 2025 this past May.

“I played it at EDC, and then I played the collab in San Diego, and every time, everyone jumped,” says Disco Lines. “So I was like, ‘Tinashe, ‘Check this s–t out.’ Then a bunch of people kept using it on the internet, and it just gained momentum.”

“Yeah, it popped off,” adds Tinashe. “It went crazy.”

“I saw the initial edit at EDC, the little clip,” she continues, “and at that point we linked up through some mutual friends. I was like, ‘Well, this is f–king great’ and just wanted to build it out from there turn it into something super impactful.”

At this point the pair were working remotely, with Tinashe going in the studio to re-record some of her vocal elements so the collab would be, she says, “super crispy and super new and fresh.” The duo, both based in Los Angeles, eventually linked IRL to make photo and video content. “That was when the final version really came together,” says Tinashe.

One only need listen to this final version to get why it undeniably works, but beyond the “catchy as hell production” Disco Lines thinks part of its secret sauce is that “it tells a story, and we don’t see that in electronic music very often anymore.” Written by Tinashe, Ricky Reed and Michael Neil, the Quantum Baby version of the song tells the story of getting a call from your ex, who you swiftly reject because he’s broke and you’re better than that.

“Tinashe did an incredible job writing it,” says Disco Lines. “You can feel that [group of girls] energy when you listen. Everyone has had an ex that’s hit them back, and you’re like, ‘Stop banging my line.’ Everyone can relate, even me as a guy. I love the lyrics, and I think the writing Tinashe did is just so strong.”

The success of “No Broke Boys” is a quantum leap of a profile booster for Disco Lines, the producer who’s been on the scene for years, with releases going back to 2019. Tinashe has of course been a force in R&B for more than a decade, and has clocked hits across Billboard charts — including four other Hot 100 hits, most recently her 2024 smash “Nasty.”

She’s also been in the mix in the dance world for years, collaborating with Kaytranada on 2019’s “The Worst In Me” from his Grammy-winning album Bubba, appearing on the “b2b” remix on Charli xcx‘s 2024 album Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat and scoring a Dance Club Songs No. 1 with her 2016 Britney Spears collab “Slumber Party.”

But the “No Broke Boys” pair agree that despite their respective profiles, the song’s success is putting each of them in front of new audiences and parts of the industry. “The fun part about music is that you can go in and create new versions and make different iterations of the same song, and it can speak to totally different people,” Tinashe says.

“It’s been fun to see the trajectory of the song and see it grow and it change and evolve into something that can speak to an entirely different group of people and bring an entirely different group of ears to the to the song,” she continues. “It’s exciting to see how music can evolve in that way.”

Doing the interview for this story the day after getting back from a 10-date tour in Asia, Tinashe reports that “No Broke Boys” was connecting with audiences even on the literal other side of the world. “It was so fun to see people singing that song all the f–king way in Asia,” she says.

Disco Lines reports the runaway success has also broadened his horizons by “opening up sessions with a bunch of hip-artists and higher caliber artists, which has been amazing.” While he says says he’s been relatively chill all summer in terms of producing new music, he recently had a session with Shoreline Mafia, which helps him on his mission of continuing to branch out from dance music.

Whatever other opportunities the song might open up, the pair agree, will be decided by the same “energy of the universe,” as Tinashe calls it, that’s made “No Broke Boys” a smash.

“We really haven’t had to make anything happen,” she says. “It’s just felt really natural, and I think that’s one of the most amazing things about it. So we’re going to keep going with the vibes, continue riding the waves and see what happens.”

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Kendrick Lamar, Clipse & Doechii Show Rap Can Shine in Every Style With 2026 Grammy Noms

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On Friday (Nov. 7), the Recording Academy unveiled the nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards, and as always, the hip-hop world has plenty to celebrate and debate. With everyone on pins and needles, this year’s lineup delivers no shortage of storylines, surprises and standout performances from rap’s elite.

For the second consecutive year, Kendrick Lamar leads all contenders with a staggering nine nominations, courtesy of his late-2024 masterclass, GNX. After last year’s dominant run, capped by him ultimately claiming song and record of the year for “Not Like Us” at the Grammys in February, Lamar is looking to go back-to-back, with “Luther” also recognized in both categories. Joining him in the Big Four categories are fellow rap titans Tyler, The Creator and the Clipse, both of whom are nominated for album of the year. Tyler’s Chromokopia flexed his creative range and unfiltered candor, while Clipse’s unapologetic return to their trademark druglord narratives with Let God Sort Em Out sparked a wave of critical acclaim and Grammy contention.

The women of hip-hop also showed out in this year’s nominations, further proving the genre’s depth. Doechii, Cardi B, and GloRilla each earned major recognition, underscoring why rap remains in a healthy, evolving place despite outside noise. Doechii, who claimed best rap album last year, scored six more nominations on the strength of her viral smash “Anxiety” and the enduring impact of Alligator Bites Never Heal. Likewise, GloRilla’s 2024 comeback has catapulted her back to the top of the food chain, marking a powerful redemption run.

See what else Billboard has to say about this year’s hip-hop nominees below.

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From The Weeknd to Gracie Abrams, Which Snubbed Artist Should’ve Gotten a 2026 Grammy Nod? Vote!

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Numerous artists are currently flying high after scoring 2026 Grammy nominations on Friday (Nov. 7) –but there are also several major contenders who didn’t get quite as lucky.

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Despite garnering major award buzz this past year, stars such as The Weeknd, Gracie Abrams and Alex Warren didn’t get recognized in certain categories, which were unveiled Friday morning in a livestream on the Grammy website. The absence of the artist born Abel Tesfaye from the nominations list was particularly noticeable, as he had just reconciled with the academy last year and dropped Billboard 200-topping album Hurry Up Tomorrow in February. But while Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter and Bad Bunny got honors in the album of the year category, The Weeknd did not.

Both Abrams and Warren were also excluded from the major categories, with neither “That’s So True” nor “Ordinary” getting song or record of the year consideration, even though those were two of the biggest Billboard Hot 100-charting tracks of the year. Warren at least scored a nod for best new artist, but that category was also missing several big names, including Zach Top, Megan Moroney, Ella Langley and Ravyn Lenae.

The producer of the year, non classical category will turn heads for the second year in a row as well, as Jack Antonoff — who was notably excluded from the list in 2025 — once again did not make the cut. That comes in spite of his work on two album of theyear contenders, Lamar’s GNX and Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, both of which spent time at No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart. Instead, Dan Auerbach, Cirkut, Dijon, Blake Mills and Sounwave will fight it out for the prize.

But while the academy’s word is final, it’s your turn to share how you feel about the outcome of the initial voting process this year. Have any strong feelings on which snubbed artist was the most deserving of recognition? We want to know.

Tell us who you think should have been nominated in a category they were shut out of by voting in the poll below.

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Pete Davidson Surprises on ‘SNL,’ Jokes About Ferry Boat He Bought With Colin Jost: Watch

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Pete Davidson returned to Saturday Night Live for a surprise appearance on Nov. 8.

The comedian and actor, who was an SNL cast member from 2014 to 2022, crashed the “Weekend Update” segment to poke fun at a recent article about a decommissioned Staten Island ferry he purchased with Colin Jost in 2022. The two had planned to transform the vessel into an upscale entertainment venue.

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The New York Times recently ran an article calling the Staten Island Ferry that I purchased with Pete Davidson a ‘money-losing fiasco.’ With more on this, is Pete Davidson,” Jost said in introducing The King of Staten Island star.

“Colin, you’re looking great as ever. [Michael] Che, starting to crack,” Davidson joked, mentioning his recent appearance at the 2025 Riyadh Comedy Festival and that he’s expecting his first child.

“So yeah, in case you’re wondering why I had to do a show in Saudi Arabia, we’re losing millions on this ferry,” he continued. “I assume that’s what the article says. I can’t spend $5 on a paywall when I got a kid on the way.”

Davidson and Jost then continued trading jokes about the 2,109-ton ferry, which they bought at a New York auction for $280,100.

“We even gave the boat a new name,” Davidson said. “We thought the Staten Island Ferry sounded too depressing, so now it’s called the Titanic 2.” Jost added, “That’s right, and it’s actually going very well. Recently, we got paid by Nike to put an ad on it for the New York City Marathon.”

Earlier on Saturday, Davidson told People that he’d “do anything” for SNL boss Lorne Michaels, saying he’d return to the show if asked.

“I had a great time hosting last time, and anytime you get that call, it’s an honor and a privilege,” the eight-season SNL vet said. “It’s always relevant, it’s a hot show. People look forward to it, and the cast is great.”

Saturday’s episode was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, with singer-songwriter Sombr serving as the musical guest.

Watch SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment with Davidson below, and find all the ways to stream the full episode here.

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