NEWS
Chris Brown's popularity gets taken for granted. He hasn't been a critical darling for over a decade, but he has continued to sell massive quantities of records due to his pop instincts. He knows what the fans like, and what the fans absolutely love right now is the "Residuals" challenge. The singer invited fans and other singers to contribute verses to the 2024 song of the same name. The most surprising contributor was disgraced R&B legend R Kelly. Chris Brown decided to break his silence on the trend and show love to all involved. Yes, including Kells.
"I just wanna take this time to show my thanks and love for everyone who is doing the 'Residuals' challenge," Breezy wrote on Instagram. "I'm glad it’s giving people the opportunity to be seen and heard." The singer then claimed that those who supported the challenge are fans of authentic R&B music. "Real R&B isn’t dead," he asserted. "And I thank you for showing me that." Chris Brown is no stranger to controversy, but he was likely just as surprised as the fans when R Kelly decided to drop "Residuals" of his own from prison. The attention from the Kells remix helped to boost awareness of Brown's challenge, though.
Brown and R Kelly have collaborated multiple times over the years. The latter was a massive Breezy supporter during the first leg of his career, and praised him accordingly in the media. He told Guardian that Chris Brown was historically talented in 2013, and commended his ability to bounce back after the Rihanna controversy. "He's obviously one strong individual to be able to do what he's done," Kels noted. "He got knocked down a little bit and he climbed up. You know, that sounds like Ali to me. That sounds like Martin Luther King to me." Brown, in return, has cited Kelly as a major musical influence.
The controversies that both artists have been linked to have often led to them being discussed in similar breaths. Tinashe, for example, claimed that was embarrassed by the songs she recorded with both men during the Zach Sang Show in 2023. "That is so embarrassing. That is so unreal that I even have a song with R Kelly," she stated. "That's so embarrassing." Despite said controversies, both Brown and R Kelly remain two of the best-selling R&B artists of all time.
NEWS
Lorde returned to Governor’s Ball for the first time in nine years and gave fans a unique take on her collaboration with Charli XCX, ‘Girl, So Confusing’.
The New Zealand singer made her long awaited comeback to the New York festival on Friday (June 5), where she headlined the opening night.
Speaking to the crowd about stepping back onto the Governor’s Ball stage after almost a decade away, Lorde admitted it was “the most nervous I’ve been for a show in a while”. She then treated fans to a string of beloved tracks including ‘Royals’, ‘What Was That’, and ‘Hammer’.
One of the standout highlights of the evening arrived near the end of her 21 song performance when she performed ‘Girl, So Confusing’, the track she later reworked alongside Charli XCX.
The song first appeared on Charli XCX’s hugely successful 2024 album ‘Brat’ without Lorde’s involvement, though it was inspired by her. In the lyrics, Charli reflected on the complicated feelings between the two artists and revealed she had once felt “super jealous” of the New Zealander’s achievements during her early career.
The pair later teamed up for a remix after Charli shared the song’s meaning with Lorde ahead of the release of ‘Brat’. Following that conversation, Lorde proposed creating a collaborative version together.
At Governor’s Ball, Lorde performed the remix adaptation during the closing section of her set and added her own personal touch to the track.
Charli was not present for the performance, leaving Lorde to deliver the song on her own. The moment stood out even more because the track had only appeared sparingly throughout Lorde’s recent ‘Ultrasound’ tour. More footage from the show can be seen below.
In addition to revisiting fan favourites and reimagining ‘Girl, So Confusing’, Lorde also surprised the audience with a preview of brand new material.
Early in the set, she introduced a portion of an unreleased song from the side of the stage. Standing behind a synthesizer setup, she sang: “Don’t look for me now that I’m gone/ Don’t look for me, I’m gone.”
Lorde’s festival appearances this summer follow her recent ‘Ultrasound’ tour, which was launched in support of her newest album, ‘Virgin’.
Released last June, the record earned a four star review from NME, which stated: “‘Virgin’ is a vibrant combination of Lorde’s best qualities, and then some.”
“With her newfound candour, the record combines the emotional whirlwind of ‘Melodrama’, the chilling minimalism of ‘Pure Heroine’ and the breezy freedom of ‘Solar Power’,” it added. “This might be called ‘Virgin’, but Lorde proves she’s not afraid to strip herself bare.”
While ‘Girl, So Confusing’ was not a regular feature during the ‘Ultrasound’ tour, Lorde did perform it at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles last October, where she surprised fans by bringing Charli XCX on stage.
Since releasing ‘Virgin’ and launching the accompanying tour, Lorde has contributed more than $200,000 from merchandise sales to Minnesota immigrant funds. She has also been announced as a headliner for All Points East 2026 in London, where PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and additional artists are also set to appear.
