Jason Aldean Controversy, Usher Serenades Quavo’s Girlfriend, Doja Cat’s New Music & More | Billboard News
Usher serenades Quavo’s rumored girlfriend during his Las Vegas Residency show. YG & Saweetie announce tour as they continue to spark dating rumors. Doja Cat vows to stop making music that is “palatable, marketable and sellable.” Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” has caused quite a controversy. CMT has pulled the video after the social media backlash it received and Sheryl Crow gives her unfiltered reaction to the track. And more!
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00:00 We've got updates on the hottest hip-hop and R&B concerts.
00:03 Doja Cat says she's done making music that's sellable.
00:06 Jason Aldean's music video gets pulled from the air.
00:09 French Montana teaches us his favorite slang.
00:12 We get astrological with Lauren Gray.
00:15 And we've got a major Latin Music Week announcement.
00:17 (upbeat music)
00:20 We've got a jam-packed show for you today.
00:23 I'm Tetris Kelly for Billboard News.
00:25 It's Wednesday, July 19th, and let me start
00:27 by giving you a hip-hop and R&B headline roundup.
00:31 Doja Cat is committed to not making commercial music.
00:34 Usher needs to be careful serenading Quavo's girlfriend.
00:37 And YG and Sweetie are taking their
00:39 rumored relationship on the road.
00:41 Let's talk about our superstars of hip-hop and R&B.
00:44 Usher got in a lot of trouble after a viral clip
00:47 with Keke Palmer caused drama with her and her baby daddy.
00:50 So when Quavo and his reported new boo,
00:52 gymnast Erika Fontaine, went to his Vegas residency,
00:56 Usher was careful.
00:58 (hip-hop music)
01:01 And speaking of Quavo's ex,
01:08 Sweetie is rumored to have moved on with YG.
01:11 And after being spotted in LA holding hands,
01:13 they are making some big professional moves.
01:16 They are joining Tyga on the Straight to the Club Tour,
01:19 playing 14 arena shows starting September 21st.
01:23 ♪ Look at me, look at me ♪
01:25 ♪ You're looking ♪
01:26 ♪ I taste good but I just had to redirect my cooking ♪
01:28 And after releasing Attention,
01:30 Doja is doubling down on her sound.
01:32 In a new cover story for V Magazine, she stated,
01:36 "I've been making music that's palatable,
01:38 "marketable, and sellable.
01:40 "These upcoming projects are going to be very different.
01:42 "I am excited.
01:44 "I do not care if people are not."
01:47 Fair warning, our next story is pretty upsetting.
01:50 But we have to tell you the latest on Jason Aldean.
01:53 Jason Aldean's new music video gets pulled from the air
01:56 and Sheo Crow steps into the chat.
01:59 ♪ Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store ♪
02:02 ♪ You think it's cool ♪
02:03 ♪ Act a fool if you like ♪
02:06 Jason Aldean's new song, Try That in a Small Town,
02:08 has been labeled by many online as racist.
02:11 The lyrics and imagery harken to themes of sunset towns,
02:15 all white towns of the segregation era in the United States.
02:19 ♪ Got a gun that my granddad gave me ♪
02:22 ♪ They say one day they're gonna round up ♪
02:25 Even part of the music video was shot
02:27 in front of a courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee,
02:29 a location well known for being the site
02:32 of a lynching of a black man in the 1920s.
02:35 ♪ All the good old boys ♪
02:38 ♪ Raised up right ♪
02:40 With the combination of the violent lyrics
02:42 and racist imagery, CMT removed the music video
02:45 from their rotation.
02:46 The network declined to comment on their decision.
02:49 But Aldean took to Instagram to address it,
02:51 saying in part, "In the past 24 hours,
02:54 "I've been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song.
02:57 "There is not a single lyric in the song
02:59 "that references race or points to it,
03:01 "and there isn't a single clip
03:03 "that isn't real news footage."
03:05 He went on to point out that he was present
03:06 for the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas
03:09 and does not want to see any more senseless headlines
03:12 or families ripped apart.
03:14 Aldean's wife came to his defense
03:16 accusing the media of twisting the narrative.
03:18 She's no stranger to controversy.
03:20 She got called out for transphobic comments in the past
03:23 that led to a feud with Maren Morris,
03:25 which birthed the nickname Insurrection Barbie.
03:28 But she's not the only one speaking on the video.
03:31 Sheryl Crow tweeted, "I'm from a small town.
03:33 "Even people in small towns are sick of violence.
03:36 "There's nothing small town or American
03:38 "about promoting violence.
03:40 "You should know that better than anyone
03:42 "having survived a mass shooting.
03:44 "This is not American or small town-like.
03:46 "It's just lame."
03:48 Listen, I'm from a small town,
03:49 and I wouldn't go near anybody
03:51 blasting this song in their pickup truck.
03:53 But what do you think of this one?
03:54 Let me know in the comments.
03:56 Let's lighten the mood.
03:57 French Montana just taught us some really useful slang,
04:00 especially after that last story.
04:03 - What up, what up?
04:04 It's your boy Moroccan Montana today,
04:05 and this is my three Moroccan slangs.
04:08 (upbeat music)
04:10 (speaking in foreign language)
04:13 That mean fuck off.
04:15 (speaking in foreign language)
04:17 That mean go fuck yourself.
04:19 (speaking in foreign language)
04:21 That means dickhead.
04:23 (laughing)
04:24 Shout out to all my Moroccans.
04:25 Respectfully.
04:26 - Thank you so much for French, I needed that.
04:30 Now there's a lot going on in the stars right now.
04:33 I don't know much about that,
04:34 but our very own Billboard News producer/astrologer,
04:37 Evan Berg, does.
04:39 And he sat down with singer and social media sensation,
04:41 Lauren Gray, to read her birth story.
04:44 - You have another really great aspect that I really love.
04:46 You have Jupiter on your ascendant.
04:48 It's conjunct, that means it's right on top of it.
04:50 I get drawn immediately to the thought of like,
04:52 you're come up on social media at such a young age.
04:55 That's Jupiter, the expansion, and your image just growing.
04:58 - Wow.
04:59 - What was it like growing up
05:00 and having the spotlight thrusted on you?
05:03 - I was just getting my feelings out
05:05 and sort of turning to this creative outlet.
05:10 And I didn't even know you could be famous on social media.
05:15 Two months before I started posting,
05:19 I was in the car with my mom.
05:20 I remember exactly where we were.
05:22 And I said, "I never want to be famous.
05:25 "I do not want people in my business."
05:27 And my mom said, "It's gonna happen."
05:29 It did happen.
05:30 A couple months after that conversation,
05:33 I felt more comfortable there
05:36 than I did in my personal life.
05:38 - Well, that's the Mercury and Venus
05:39 and that 11 tiles of your audience
05:41 and your bigger collective.
05:43 For the full episode of "Reading the Stars,"
05:45 head to billboard.com.
05:47 Our annual Latin Music Week is right around the corner.
05:50 I can't wait for Miami.
05:51 And we are excited to announce
05:53 this year's star-studded lineup.
05:55 Take a look.
05:56 (upbeat Latin music)
06:00 (upbeat Latin music)
06:03 (upbeat Latin music)
06:07 (upbeat Latin music)
06:10 (upbeat Latin music)
06:22 (upbeat Latin music)
06:31 (upbeat Latin music)
06:34 (upbeat Latin music)
06:40 (upbeat Latin music)
06:46 Tickets are on sale now, so grab yours soon.
06:51 And that's today's show.
06:52 Hope it was entertaining and educational.
06:54 Come back tomorrow to learn more about Jason Mraz
06:57 and we look back at 2016's biggest songs of the summer.
07:01 I'm Tetris Kelly and this is Billboard News.