Plenty of women got their flowers this week, from Missy Elliott’s assistant, who received a really thoughtful present from her boss, to Teyana Taylor, who became the first Black woman to top Maxim‘s Hot 100 list.
Lorde tapped into the natural world for her comeback single “Solar Power.” Meanwhile, Klay Thompson became one with the water in his latest boat livestream, and Drake became one with him in their side-by-side video.
Take a look at Billboard‘s new weekly roundup and the “awards” we gave to this week’s headlines.
Funniest Music News: Drake trolls Klay Thompson in hilarious reenactment video
Drizzy added some flare to the Golden State Warriors player’s open water livestream, where “Boat Klay” attempted to rap along to the 2018 Scorpion track “Mob Ties” and congratulated Drake for being named Artist of the Decade at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in May. Watch the video here.
Sweetest Music News: Missy Elliott surprises her assistant with a thoughtful gift
Missy Elliott’s assistant didn’t expect the big package she unwrapped on Wednesday (June 9) would contain a sweet surprise for herself. “She lost her mom a few years ago & her son had no pictures with his grandma at this age so I gave her this oil painting simply because She’s AMAZING,” Missy captioned the video on Twitter. Watch the emotional unveiling here.
Savviest Music News: Apple Music introduces spatial audio and lossless music, Amazon Music launches DJ mode
Apple rolled out Spatial Audio and lossless music, its high-fidelity music streaming option, on Monday (June 7) to give listeners a surround sound experience through their special hardware. And Amazon Music launched a new personalized on-demand radio feature called DJ Mode on Thursday (June 10), which combines artist commentary with the platform’s most popular playlists. Learn more about Apple Music’s latest feature here and Amazon’s latest development here.
Most Record-Breaking Music News: Teyana Taylor becomes 1st Black woman to top Maxim‘s Hot 100 list
Teyana Taylor made history by becoming the first Black woman to rank No. 1 on Maxim‘s Hot 100 list since its inception in 2000. In her celebratory Instagram post, she recalled the story behind the cover photo shoot and how it was an important marker in her “journey of self-reflection and self-confidence.” Read what she had to say about the honor and being back in front of the camera here.
Most Inspiring Music News: Artists sign letters to end gun violence and donate COVID vaccinations
Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Paul McCartney, Eddie Vedder and more legendary artists and executives in the music industry joined Billboard in signing an open letter to senators demanding the end of gun violence as live music venues begin opening up again. There was also Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry and others, who signed a UNICEF letter urging G7 countries to donate more coronavirus vaccines to the international COVAX initiative. Read the letters here and here.
Most Surprising Music News: Lorde makes her comeback with “Solar Power”
After teasing new music would be on the way, Lorde beamed down with her new single “Solar Power” on Thursday (June 10), which she confirmed is the title track of her upcoming third album. “The album is a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalising the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors,” she wrote. “In times of heartache, grief, deep love, or confusion, I look to the natural world for answers. I’ve learnt to breathe out, and tune in. This is what came through.” Listen to “Solar Power” here, and read Billboard‘s song review here.
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