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Taemin Feels ‘So Honored & Grateful’ to Be the First Male K-Pop Solo Artist to Perform at Coachella

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Taemin is making history a long way from home. SHINee member and K-pop star appeared on the Wednesday (April 1) episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, where he spoke about being part of this year’s Coachella lineup.

“You’re making history as the first K-pop male solo artist to perform at Coachella,” Hudson points out during their chat. “How does that feel?”

“There is a saying in Korea, ‘Big opportunities come three times in life,'” Taemin responds after sharing that he was feeling “honored and grateful” to be performing at the festival. “And this is one of them.”

Hudson continues the chat by asking the star if he will release more solo music.

“Oh, yes,” Taemin replies. “I am still evolving.”

The star was also on the talk show to perform his new single, “Long Way Home.” The “Idol’s Idol” sang alone on the stage, dancing effortlessly with his rhinestone microphone and mic stand for the adoring audience.

Performing at Coachella isn’t the only history Taemin is making this year. Billboard exclusively revealed in March that the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles will open a new exhibit dedicated to the K-pop star’s nearly two-decade long career, making him the first K-pop soloist to receive such recognition from the museum. “TAEMIN: Performer. Artist. Icon” will opens April 1 and will give fans a peek behind the curtains of Taemin’s career. Multiple performance looks — including one from his Ephemeral Gaze World Tour — will be on display as well as his official lightstick and a handwritten note addressed to his fans. The special exhibit will run through May 25.

Watch Taemin’s performance and chat on The Jennifer Hudson Show above.


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Watch ‘Champion of All Athletes’ Flavor Flav Throw the First Pitch at Fenway Park on Easter

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Flavor Flav has once again proven his dedication to sports. Flav joined the Boston Red Sox on Easter Sunday (April 5) to throw the first pitch at their game against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park.

Though Flav is from New York, home to the Red Sox’s biggest rivals, the Yankees, he repped Boston through and through for the occasion. The rapper showed up decked out in a custom Flavor Flav Red Sox jersey, a red baseball cap and matching red pants. And, of course, in Flavor Flav fashion, he also made sure to wear a blinged out red, white and blue version of his signature giant clock necklace.

When Flav stepped out to the pitch, the announcer referred to him as “a champion of all athletes.” Unfortunately, his pitch was not enough to win the Red Sox the game as Boston lost to San Diego 8-6. Despite the loss, Flavor Flav let fans know that he had a great time the game. The Public Enemy cofounder shared an Instagram carousel with highlights from his time at Fenway Park. In one video, Flav high-fived every Red Sox player in their dugout. In his post, Flavor Flav also shared that he ran into a special friend of his.

“I ran into my girl [Jordan Raney] from the USA Olympic Water Polo team,” Flav said in the caption to the post, where he also included photos of himself hugging the Olympian.

The iconic rapper has famously been a big advocate and financial supporter of women’s sports. Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the rapper offered to sponsor the U.S. women’s water polo team after learning that they were severely underfunded and members of the team were working multiple jobs to make ends meet. In July of that year, Flav officially inked a five-year sponsorship deal with both the women’s and men’s teams.

After this year’s Winter Olympics, Flav invited the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team to party with him in Vegas after Donald Trump made a dismissive joke about inviting the women to the White House in a conversation with the men’s team. He also joined the U.S. bobsled and skeleton teams at the Winter Olympics as their official hype man.

Watch Flav throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on Easter above.


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Bad Bunny’s Spotify’s Billions Club Concert Film Is Coming Sooner Than You Think: Watch the Teaser

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Bad Bunny‘s first Asia show at Spotify’s star-studded Billions Club in Tokyo will arrive on the platform — and soon. Spotify announced on Monday (April 6) that the release date for the one-night event will be April 8.

Billions Club Live With Bad Bunny: A Concert Film will show the Puerto Rican superstar delivering 17 of his biggest hits — including “DtMF,” “Baile Involvidable,” “Nuevalyol” and “EOO” — at Tipstar Dome Chiba on March 7, almost a month after his headline performance at Super Bowl LX.

The show — Spotify’s first Billions Club Live in the region — also debuted a salsa version of his reggaetón hit “MIA” from 2018, featuring guest appearances by Puerto Rican musicians Los Pleneros de la Cresta and Los Sobrinos. Other highlights included “Yonaguni,” during which fans sang along to the Japanese lyrics, and a surprise appearance by Jowell & Randy for “Safaera.”

The evening opened and closed with music provided by DJ Nasthug, while BLACKPINK‘s LISA and contemporary artist Takashi Murakami were among the celebrities in attendance.

With 29 songs that have surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, Bad Bunny has been shattering numerous records in recent months. In February, he landed a record-breaking 29 simultaneous titles on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart, including the entire top 25, while also bagging the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

Furthermore, his Super Bowl LX Halftime Show was the most watched of all time. According to coproducer Roc Nation, Benito’s history-making performance set a global viewership record with 4.157 billion worldwide views in the first 24 hours across global and U.S. broadcasts, as well as YouTube and other digital properties.

Watch a teaser of Billions Club Live With Bad Bunny: A Concert Film below:

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R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Rjtheweirdo, Sekou, Lazer Dim 700, Marlon Craft & More

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It’s been a characteristically hectic week for the hip-hop world.

Last Thursday (April 2), Pooh Shiesty previewed the weekend with a shocking legal altercation barely six months after his release from federal prison. The Memphis rapper was one of eight men arrested on kidnapping and robbery charges tied to a physical altercation regarding his recording contract with Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records.

Ye quickly stole the weekend’s headlines from Pooh, thanks to his new Bully album, which opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 behind BTS’s Arirang, and its accompanying pair of SoFi Stadium shows in Los Angeles. At the final show (April 3), the controversial rapper brought out Ms. Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott, Zion Marley, YG Marley, CeeLo Green and André Troutman as special guests.

Despite packing one of the world’s flashiest stadiums and breaking the six-figure mark with Bully’s opening week total, Ye’s past antisemitic, antiblack and sexually violent controversies continue to muddy his comeback efforts. On Monday morning (April 6), flagship alcohol brand parent company Diageo and energy drinks company Rockstar Energy joined the growing list of sponsors severing ties with London’s Wireless Festival, which booked Ye as a headliner for all three nights (July 10-12). PepsiCo was the first sponsor to withdraw from Wireless, with PayPal also distancing itself from the Finsbury Park-set festival. As the summer approaches, all eyes will be on Wireless and Ye to see if the two parties can actually pull off this festival takeover.

Outside of the high-stakes headlines, we also got new albums from Arlo Parks (Ambiguous Desire), Swae Lee (Same Difference) and Earl Sweatshirt, Mike & Surf Gang (Pompeii // Utility).

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from a disco-infused Sekou to a new Lazer Dim 700 banger. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.

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