Wedding bells are ringing for Ariana Grande and basketballs are dribbling for J. Cole this week, but they’re not the only ones going for big rings.
Doja Cat and SZA are bringing “Kiss Me More” to the 2021 Billboard Music Awards for its debut television performance on Sunday, while the Jonas Brothers and Marshmello are also coming together to perform their brand new collaboration, “Leave Me Before You Love Me,” for the first time.
Take a look at Billboard’s new weekly roundup and the “awards” it gave to this week’s headlines.
Happiest Music News: Olivia Rodrigo releases her debut album Sour
Driver’s license? Check. Debut album? Check. Olivia Rodrigo finally dropped her highly anticipated first project Sour on Friday (May 21), and it’s already cemented itself as the Gen Z pop album of the year. As Jason Lipshutz writes for First Stream, its “songwriting panache, sonic adventurousness and impossible-not-to-love charm.” See how Billboard ranked each song here.
Sweetest Music News: Ariana Grande gets married
Looks like the “7 Rings” singer got herself a wedding ring! Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez tied the knot in an intimate ceremony over the weekend. Read about the happy couple’s nupitals here.
Zaniest Music News: Quincy Jones sent his music to space but rejected invitation to go there
The legendary music producer told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview on Thursday (May 20) that his “Fly Me to the Moon” recording with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie was the first song played on the moon, but he has no intentions of going there. “Oh my God, I’m not going there. Richard Branson and Paul Allen and Elon [Musk] are trying to get me to go with them. [They say,] ‘It’s $250,000, I’m going to let you go free.’ Uh-uh,” he said. Read the whole interview here.
Most Inspiring Music News: Lauren Jauregui spreads awareness about mental health on Billboard’s Instagram
Thursday (May 20) was Mental Health Action Day, and Lauren Jauregui helped us commemorate the day by taking over our Instagram Story to share her personal tips on how she keeps her mental health in check. Check out Billboard’s Instagram here and learn more about how artists are feeling about their mental health in the midst of returning to live events here.
Most Baller Music News: J. Cole makes pro basketball league debut & tops two Billboard charts
Naming an album The Off-Season when you’re in season playing for a Basketball Africa League team speaks to how baller Jermaine Cole is. On top of the three points, three rebounds and two assists he had in his Rwandan Patriots BBC professional basketball debut on Sunday (May 16), the 36-year-old rapper scored two No. 1s on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters and Streaming Songs charts for the first time this week with “Interlude,” which also debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Watch J. Cole score here, and read about the chart history he made here and here.
Most Surprising Music News: More BBMAs performers are announced
Doja Cat and SZA will bring the debut TV performance of “Kiss Me More” to the BBMAs, Marshmello will join the Jonas Brothers to perform their collab “Leave Me Before You Love Me,” and Alicia Keys will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Songs in A Minor with a special medley. Bad Bunny, Karol G, Glass Animals, AJR, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis with Sounds of Blackness featuring Ann Nesby will also take the stage. See the full list of performers here. And don’t forget to tune into the 2021 BBMAs on May 23 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on NBC!
