Miss Cleocatra is a one top cat with class and style but, it turns out, she doesn’t have nine lives. The feline got ousted during episode 8 of The Masked Singer’s 11th season, which aired Wednesday, April 24. The theme was “Girl Group Night,” and the celebrity contestants – and judges – got into the swing of things. Gumball sang “Wide Open Spaces” by the Chicks, Seal performed “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips, the Beets hit “I’m So Excited” by the Pointer Sisters, and Miss Cleocatra performed “Free Your Mind” by En Vogue. The two contestants with the lowest scored entered a smackdown, Miss Cleocatra and Seal. Each performed their own rendition of “Waterfalls” by TLC, after which only one could stay. Cleocatra had to go. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Under the Pharaoh-styled Cleocatra helmet was Jenifer Lewis, the veteran singer and star of Black-ish. Ken Jeong guessed right. She’s graced the Broadway, the big screen, and small. Why do The Masked Singer? Lewis used her stint on Fox’s quirky singing competition to get back into the saddle after a shocking injury from a fall in the Serengeti back in November 2022. Trending on Billboard Last month, Lewis told all in a sit-down interview with Robin Roberts that aired on Good Morning America, sharing the grim details of a 10-feel fall from her hotel balcony, which left her unable to move and thinking she might die. After recovering from her injuries, Lewis was able to appear in NBC’s Night Court revival and Jennifer Lopez’s musical movie This Is Me … Now: A Love Story. The Masked Singer enabled her to get back to what she loves. “Listen guys, I took a long break,” she told the audience after the big reveal. “And when they called I said I haven’t been on stage singing for a long time. So I said c’mon, let’s go. And it was fun, I had a blast.” Addressing viewers at home, Lewis remarked, “do me a favor, you’re so young and you’re so beautiful. Take care of yourselves. And be loving to one another, you hear me. That’s what I want for you.” Lewis’ unmasking as Miss Cleocatra follows one week after The Masked Singer‘s “Queen Night” episode, which saw the unmasking of Ugly Sweater, aka Charlie Wilson, and Starfish, The Office‘s Kate Flannery. Past season 11 contestants whose identities have been revealed include Kevin Hart (Book); restauranteur Joe Bastianich (Spaghetti & Meatballs); TV personalities Savannah Chrisley (Afghan Hound), Billy Bush (Sir Lion) and Colton Underwood (Lovebird); NFL hall of famer DeMarcus Ware (Koala); and singer Sisqó (Lizard). Watch Miss Cleocatra’s performance and unmasking below. [embedded content] [embedded content]

Taylor Swift sets a new career mark in the U.K., as The Tortured Poets Department mounts a massive lead in the national chart race. In just three tracking days, Tortured Poets (via EMI) notches a U.K. career best opening week for Swift with more than 220,000 combined units, according to a rare sales flash published by the Official Charts Company.That’s well ahead of Swift’s previous first-week best, for Midnights, which accumulated 204,000 combined units in a seven-day stretch following its release in 2022.Tortured Poets has a long way to go if it is to compete with the U.K.’s all-time fastest sellers. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The record holder is Adele’s 2015 effort 25, with 800,000 first-week units; ahead of Oasis’s 1997 release Be Here Now, with 696,000 units (collected in just three sales days); and Ed Sheeran’s album from 2017 ÷ with 670,000 units, respectively. As previously reported, Swift should sweep to a U.K. chart double. Tortured Poets is already the U.K.’s fastest-selling album of 2024 so far, and Swift should lock up the top three spots on the national singles chart, with “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, “The Tortured Poets Department,” and “So Long, London,” respectively. “Fortnight” should become TayTay’s fourth U.K. No. 1, after “Look What You Made Me Do” (from 2017), “cardigan” (2020) and “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” (2023). Trending on Billboard And, with Tortured Poets, Swift should score a 12th U.K. No. 1 album, equaling Madonna at the top of the leaderboard of solo female artists. She’s also the first and only artist this century to rack up 10 U.K. No. 1 albums. Swift’s 11th studio album has already set a slew of records, including a new, global streaming mark on Spotify, blasting away with more than 300 million streams in a single day, and shifting 700,000 copies on vinyl in its first week on sale in the United States.All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, April 26.

The 2024 Latin American Music Awards are taking place this Thursday, April 25, live from Las Vegas via Univision. Before all the glitz and glam, Billboard was backstage at rehearsals catching up with some of the night’s nominees and performers.  Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Under the theme “We Speak Música,” the awards ceremony will broadcast its first-ever bilingual edition co-hosted by Thalia, Becky G, Alejandra Espinoza, and Carlos Ponce. This year’s top nominees are Feid and Peso Pluma with 12 nods each. Meanwhile, Banda MS, Ricardo Montaner, and Yandel will be honored with special tributes and awards.  The Latin AMAs will air live at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 25, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas via Univision, UNIMÁS, Galavisión and ViX.  Trending on Billboard Below, check out some of the best highlights during rehearsals:  New Albums Galore Backstage at rehearsals, a handful of artists revealed that they will be releasing new albums this year. Danny Ocean, for example, opened up about his forthcoming Reflexa, which he described as a very personal process where he reflected on his life and the future of his career. Farruko, on the other hand, explained he will be premiering a song with Ky-Mani Marley at the 2024 Latin AMAs, marking the first single of his next studio album dropping soon.  Meanwhile, Wisin is set to drop his own project dubbed Mr. W this week, where he reeled in colleagues such as Don Omar, Yandel, Pedro Capo, Mora, and Jowell y Randy. “Doing music for me is not a job, it’s pleasure,” he tells Billboard. “I enjoy going to the studio and being able to collaborate. I enjoy breaking barriers in music. I think that’s what my album is all about.”  Los Avengers Are Back In their comeback era, Los Avengers will be performing at the 2024 Latin AMAs. Four of the reggaetón collective’s members—Justin Quiles, Sech, Dalex, and Dimelo Flow—were at rehearsals talking about their new album, The Academy: Segunda Mision, and their highly-anticipated night.  “We transported 2019 to 2024, a bit more advanced with new music,” Quiles says to Billboard. “The same group. Good energy, good music. Everytime we get together, it’s organic.” Sech, who’s been taking a break from music and social media, could not contain his excitement. “I was working on myself. Life goes by very fast. I was organizing myself but we came to have an incredible time with the boys,” he notes.  AB Quintanilla’s Sweet Initiative AB Quintanilla, who will form part of Banda MS’ tribute performance, used his platform to talk about a heartfelt initiative he has going on with his latest single, “El Rey de la Kumbia,” which he worked on over a year ago with the late artist, Lefty SM. “The beautiful thing about this song is that the record label and myself agreed that any financials made from the song, the publishing, anything whatsoever, would go to his wife and kids. So, it’s good giving back,” he expresses. AB Quintanilla Courtesy of Univision Yandel Talks Feid Bromance Yandel was present at the Latin AMAs, where he’s set to receive a special award for being one of the pioneers of the reggaetón movement on Thursday night (April 25). At rehearsals, he talked about his freshly-released joint EP with Feid, MANIFESTING 20-05. “It called my attention because I never expected it,” he notes. “I always wanted to collaborate with him because I like his talent, how he sings, his energy, how he is as a person. When I met him, I became more of a fan. [The album] was a proposal I made to him after ‘Yandel 150.’ For me, it’s a special project that I’m enjoying because I’m attracting [a] new generation [of fans].” Becky G’s Co-Hosting Era Becky G is ready to co-host the award ceremony’s first-ever bilingual broadcast alongside Thalia, Alejandra Espinoza, and Carlos Ponce. “It’s my first time coming to one of these awards shows and not feeling ashamed of being a Pocha, speaking in Spanglish,” the Mexican-American singer exclusively tells Billboard. “I know there are many generations that also identify with their Latin roots and want to participate in celebrating our culture but maybe don’t always feel welcomed to do so, so our hope is to extend a big hug to all the multi-generational families that are going to be watching this show.” Backstage, she also reflected on “Shower,” which was released 10 years ago and has opened so much doors for her since. Watch the full interview below:

Newcomers Oscar Ortiz and Edgardo Nuñez combine efforts for their first No. 1 on any Billboard chart as “First Love” ascends 3-1 on the April 27-dated Regional Mexican Airplay ranking. The song was released Dec. 23 via BadSin Records, the music management company co-owned by Ortiz and his brothers Kevin and Gerardo, both frequent Billboard charts visitors. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I feel grateful and honored that Edgardo Nuñez believed in my composition and I cannot say ‘thank you’ enough to my fans for supporting me in this dream,” 21-year-old Ortiz tells Billboard. “First Love” accrued 7.95 million audience impressions in the U.S. toward the April 27 Billboard ranking (April 12-18 tracking week), according to Luminate; that’s a 16% gain from the week prior. The song ejects Banda MS’ “Tu Perfume” from the penthouse, which falls to No. 2 with a 6% dip, to 7.1 million impressions. Trending on Billboard Notably, “First Love” becomes just the fifth song by two co-billed soloists to lead Regional Mexican Airplay this decade. Here’s the list of those equal-billed collabs since 2020: Title, Artist, Peak Date, Weeks at No. 1“Dime Cómo Quieres,” Christian Nodal & Angela Aguilar, Jan. 30, 2021, five“Duele,” Alejandro Fernéndez & Christian Nodal, April 24, 2021, one“Tus Desprecios,” Pepe Aguilar & El Fantasma, Sept. 25, 2021, one“Si Ya Hiciste El Mal,” Luis R Conriquez & Jessi Uribe, Nov. 19, 2022, one“Según Quién,” Maluma & Carin León, Dec. 16, 2023, one“La Intención,” Christian Nodal & Peso Pluma, March 30, two“First Love,” Oscar Ortiz & Edgardo Nuñez, April 27, 2024, “First Love” caught immediate viral attention through TikTok, where Ortiz was named #Rompiendo Artist of the month in March by TikTok. To date, the song has sparked nearly 600,000 videos. Streams, however, experience a 4% dip during the tracking week, to 3.5 million official U.S. clicks. As “First Love” rises to No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay, it takes BadSin to its second champ in 2024 and 13th overall. Earlier in this year, the indie label topped the ranking through Ortiz’s brother Gerardo Ortiz’s “Ahí No Era,” for one week in charge in February. Unlike Oscar Ortiz, whose first and only Billboard entry arrived through “First Love,” Nuñez has placed four other tracks on the charts, including “El Humo De Gallo,” with Banda Los Sebastianes de Saul Plata, which debuts at No. 34 on Regional Mexican Airplay on the current list. Beyond its Regional Mexican Airplay coronation, ‘First Love” climbs 9-5 on the overall Latin Airplay chart, for its new peak, with an 18% gain in overall impressions, to 8.32 million. [embedded content]

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Victoria Beckham is expanding her fashion résumé. The former Spice Girl released her first collection with Mango on Tuesday (April 23), and it’s already selling out. From formal wear to business wear to casual chic, the Victoria Beckham x Mango collection channels the “essence” of Beckham’s fashion brand and reflects the “modern woman’s eclectic identity,” according to the brand’s website. The capsule collection features dresses, skirts, tops, pants, blazers, shirts, shoes and other wardrobe staples to welcome in the cooler weather, priced from $80 to $500 and available in sizes XS-L (2-10). Trending on Billboard The collaboration between Beckham and Mango commemorates the Spanish fashion brand’s 40th anniversary and marks the latest in a series of collaborations with other “brands, artists and talents,” according to a press release. Beckham, who celebrated her 50th birthday with a star-studded bash in London and an impromptu Spice Girls reunion, shared photos from the Victoria Beckham x Mango launch party on Instagram on Tuesday (April 24) wearing a suit from the collection. “Such an amazing night celebrating #VictoriaBeckhamxMango! I’m wearing the tailored white suit from the new collection. Kisses @mango xx,” she captioned the photos. Fans are snatching up pieces from the collection, but it’s not gone just yet. Some of the items that are out of stock, or almost sold out, include the Triple Chain Belt ($140), the Godets dress ($300), the flared suit pants ($190) and the draped halter bodysuit and polo neck sweater. Shop the collection below.   Mango Victoria Beckham x Mango Flared Suit Pants Mango Victoria Beckham x Mango Godets Dress with Decorative Stitching Mango Victoria Beckham x Mango Polo-neck Crochet Sweater Mango Vicotoria Beckham x Mango Satin Handbag Mango Victoria Beckham x Mango Draped Halter Bodysuit Mango Victoria Beckham x Mango Silk Blend Button-Down Shirt Mango Victoria Beckham x Mango Leather Sandal