djfrosty

09 Jan 2025

Bad Bunny Learns to Dance Salsa in ‘Baile Inolvidable’ Music Video: Watch

Just days after dropping his new album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) released a music video for “Baile Inolvidable,” the third song on the LP.

The sweet six-minute clip begins with Puerto Rican filmmaker Jacobo Morales, the protagonist on Benito’s Debí short film, who joins a salsa dance class. Once in the studio, Bad Bunny takes the place of Morales where he trains in a group setting. And while initially it seems like he’s not totally catching on, eventually he becomes a pro. Toward the end of the video, he goes from studio to ballroom where he not only shows off his dancing skills but performs the song as well with a live band in tow.

During an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the Puerto Rican hitmaker revealed that “Baile Inolvidable” was his favorite song from the album. Backed by live instrumentations — congas, piano, trumpets and all that jazz — “Baile” is about a man who can’t forget the woman he loved, especially the one who taught him how to dance.

Trending on Billboard

“It’s a very special song that I have in my mind for maybe two years,” he told Lowe. “The whole composition, it was in my mind way before the song was created. The whole song is made with new young musicians from Puerto Rico. All of them are 20 years old, 21, 22 they’re really young kids, straight from the Escuela Libre de Música, it’s like the public music school from Puerto Rico.”

Debí Tirar Más Fotos is Bad Bunny’s sixth studio album, which he released on Sunday (Jan. 5). The 17-track set includes collaborations with Chuwi, Dei V, Omar Courtz, Pleneros de la Cresta and RaiNao — all Puerto Rican acts.

Watch Bad Bunny’s “Baile Inolvidable” music video below:

09 Jan 2025

Listen to Mac Miller’s New Posthumous Song ‘5 Dollar Pony Rides’

Mac Miller‘s estate shared the lead single to the late rapper’s upcoming posthumous album Balloonerism.

“5 Dollar Pony Rides” features Miller’s close friend and collaborator Thundercat helping out on the production side of things, and it’s a pretty groovy jam about a girl. The Pittsburgh rapper was working on Balloonerism around the same time he was working on Watching Movies With the Sound Off, Delusional Thomas and Faces, according to a press release.

Back in 2020, Thundercat responded “It exist” to a fan on X who tweeted, “Imagine if Thundercat and Mac Miller did an entire album together.” The musician then followed his quote tweet with another saying that he’ll probably never release the project out of respect. “Everything isn’t meant to be put out like that,” he said. “Me and Mac worked on a lot of different things. He did as he saw fit y’all gotta relax lol. Bout to get my emotions flying all over the place.”

Miller’s estate recently revealed the track list, with the only credited features being SZA and his alter ego Delusional Thomas, and it’s set to drop next week, on Jan. 17.

Trending on Billboard

Fans can cop a physical version of the album, which includes a limited-edition deluxe two-LP pressing that features a rainbow foil-wrapped slipcase with white splatter cloud vinyl and a 32-page color booklet featuring photos and lyrics, as well as a limited one-time pressing that features clear vinyl. The preorder for the CD, cassette, and vinyl are available now on balloonerism.com.

Miller died in 2018 at age 26 of an accidental overdose.

You can listen to the new song below.

09 Jan 2025

Chance the Rapper & Kirsten Corley Settle Divorce

Less than a year after publicly announcing their split, Chance the Rapper and his longtime partner Kirsten Corley have settled their divorce.

The settlement, or a Stipulation to Hear Uncontested Cause, was filed this month in Cook County, Illinois, as indicated by court records reviewed by Billboard and first reported by TMZ.

Chance and Corley announced their divorce in April 2024, more than five years after they tied the knot in 2019. In their joint statement, which was posted to both party’s Instagram Stories, they explained that they are divorcing after a “period of separation” and that the couple came to the decision “amicably.”

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“After a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at the decision to part ways,” Chance and Corley wrote. “We came to this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together. God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters who we will continue to raise together. We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate this transition. Thank you.”

The former couple shares two daughters: nine-year-old Kensli and five-year-old Marli.

Trending on Billboard

Chance and Corley met as children began dating in 2013. They went through a brief split in 2016 before quickly reconciling and getting married in March 2019 with a celebration at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, Calif.

09 Jan 2025

L.A. Wildfire Relief: Organizations Providing Assistance for Music Industry Workers (Updating)

Since Tuesday (Jan. 7), ferocious wildfires have been blazing through the greater Los Angeles region, causing extensive damage to life and property, including those of many individuals working in the music business. With nearly 180,000 residents impacted by evacuation orders, at least five dead and thousands of structures damaged or destroyed, music industry organizations are finding ways to provide relief for impacted music workers.

Below, find a list of some of the music organizations offering relief for L.A. industry owrkers. We will continue to update this list as more announcements are made.

(For health alerts, evacuation updates and shelter information, check out L.A. County’s emergency website here.)

MusiCares

The Recording Academy’s philanthropic arm MusiCares say it “can consider emergency funds related to evacuation and relocation costs, instrument replacement/repair, home damage, medical care, mental health services, & other essential living needs,” according to a statement released to social media. Further details have yet to be announced.

Reach out to: musicaresrelief@musicares.org or call 1-800-687-4227

Backline

Mental health non-profit Backline is sharing resources for musicians in Los Angeles via social media and offering its own services. “Know that Backline is here for you and that you are not alone,” the organization wrote on Instagram. “You can reach out to us via our case submission form and a Case Manager will contact you to help you get the long-term support you need. If you need immediate assistance, please reach out to the Disaster Distress Hotline for free 24/7 support by calling 1-800-985-5990.”

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, the non-profit helping musicians and music industry workers in need, has launched a natural disaster relief fund for those in Los Angeles County and the surrounding areas. Applications are also open for those seeking relief, with funds raised going toward loss of music-related equipment, medical bills related to the fires and other vital living expenses.

Head here to donate or fill out an application.

09 Jan 2025

Tina Knowles Loses Malibu Bungalow in Los Angeles Wildfires: ‘It Was My Favorite Place’

Tina Knowles has lost her home amid the ongoing wildfire crisis in Los Angeles, the businesswoman revealed Thursday (Jan. 9) on Instagram.

Sharing a video of what appears to be dolphins swimming in the ocean just outside of her beachside bungalow in Malibu, Knowles — who is Mom to Beyoncé and Solange Knowles — wrote, “This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend.”

“It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place,” she continued. “Now it is gone !! God Bless all the brave men and women in our fire department who risked their lives in dangerous conditions. We thank you for your dedication and bravery and for saving so many lives.”

Adding that her “deepest prayers” are with Californians who have been affected by the fires — particularly the family members of the five victims who have been reported dead since the disaster broke out two days prior — the designer concluded, “I am praying diligently for our beautiful City of Los Angeles !! We are resilient though and we will recover!”

Knowles is just the latest public figure who’s reported losing their property to the fires, which first erupted in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday morning. More blazes have since torn through the Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, Altadena and Sylmar, claiming more than 28,000 acres so far and necessitating that nearly 180,000 residents be placed under evacuation orders or warnings, according to CNN.

Mandy Moore, Brad Paisley, Jhené Aiko and songwriter Diane Warren have also shared that the fires have destroyed their homes, while Kid Cudi, Travis Barker’s son Landon and daughter Alabama, and more celebrities have posted about evacuating. Stars such as Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Shawn Mendes have been doing their part by boosting resources on social media, while countless industry events have been forced to cancel or postpone due to the destruction to the city.

Knowles’ post comes just five days after she celebrated her 71st birthday on Jan. 4. On her big day, the mogul shared a reel of photos with her daughters and wrote on Instagram, “I am so thankful To God today for so many things ! My family ! My friends , my health and my life!!!!”

See Knowles’ post below.

09 Jan 2025

LiAngelo Ball’s ‘Tweaker’ Gets Damian Lillard Co-Sign: ‘I Rock With It’

LiAngelo Ball and his new song “Tweaker” just got another co-sign. During a postgame interview after Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs game Wednesday (Jan. 8), Bucks point guard and current consensus best rapper/athlete Damian Lillard was asked by Michael Eaves of ESPN what he felt about the record that’s taking the rap world by storm.

“I rock with it, man,” said Dame D.O.L.L.A. “I’ve been hearing it a lot, it gives me that 2003, 2004 vibe. I rock with it, like I said, it’s a slapper. And as an artist, you gotta respect other people’s artistry, and when something is going, it’s going. So, like I said, I rock with it, I respect it, and I’m always happy for other people’s success … I’m happy for him, it’s a big record, you’re hearing it everywhere. Much love to him.”

Trending on Billboard

Dame has released four projects and has rapped alongside the likes of Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Meek Mill and Shaq, so he knows a little bit about what he’s talking about when it comes to rap.

Since the middle Ball brother played his song for streamer n3on, “Tweaker” has controlled much of the conversation on social media. People quickly made the track a meme, describing it as the perfect mid-2000s anthem one would hear while navigating a video game menu, while the hype around the song earned him a slot in the upcoming Rolling Loud California festival and millions of plays. He’s already getting placements on television too: The NBA on TNT crew used the song for program breaks earlier this week.

We now await for the official “Tweaker” music video to drop.

09 Jan 2025

10 Caribbean Artists to Watch in 2025

From dancehall to soca, here are a few rising stars of the West Indies to keep an eye on in the new year.

Vybz Kartel with Sons Likkle Addi and Likkle Vybz

Vybz Kartel with Sons Likkle Addi and Likkle Vybz

Tizzy Tokyo

From music to film, 2024 was a banner year for Caribbean artists. Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Bob Marley: One Love biopic opened the year with two weeks atop the domestic box office, while its accompanying soundtrack earned a Grammy nomination for best reggae album.

Bob Marley: One Love previewed a busy year in Caribbean music that included Dash’s Road March victory at Grenada’s Spicemas, a new Spice album celebrating her 25-year career and the announcement of a new podcast chronicling the life and career of Vybz Kartel. At the Caribbean Music Awards, Shenseea (dancehall), Lila Iké (reggae) and Patrice Roberts (soca) were named the female artists of the year, while Valiant (dancehall), Romain Virgo (reggae) and Skinny Fabulous (soca) reigned as the male artists of the year. Masicka‘s Generation of Kings took home dancehall album of the year, and Buju Banton‘s Born for Greatness was crowned reggae album of the year.

2024 was a particularly poignant year for Banton, the voice behind reggae classics like “Murderer” and “Champion.” Last July, Buju sold out New York’s UBS Arena two times over with his first Stateside shows since spending eight years in federal prison on convictions of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense and using communication wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offense. The Grammy winner turned his Long Walk to Freedom shows into a 14-date U.S. arena trek that found him visiting major cities like Houston, Chicago and Atlanta.

Banton wasn’t the only West Indian icon to make a long-awaited return to the stage in 2014. Months after walking out of prison a free man after serving 13 years of a now-overturned life sentence for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams, Vybz Kartel mounted Freedom Street — the biggest concert Jamaica has seen in almost half a century. Di Worl’ Boss sat down with Billboard for our first cover story of the year and explained how the whole thing came together, but the real kicker was when he revealed an upcoming collaboration with Cardi B.

Next month, Kartel (Party With Me) will face off against Shenseea (Never Gets Late Here), Collie Budz (Take It Easy), The Wailers (Evolution), and the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack for the best reggae album Grammy. Afterward, 2025 is wide open with ample opportunity for crossover hits and breakthrough artists to make waves across the globe.

Here are 10 Caribbean artists to watch out for in 2025.

09 Jan 2025

TikTok Shop Has Exploded in Popularity. Can It Help Music Sales, Too?

Instrumental soul music is not in high demand in 2025. But last summer, Fat Beats Records quietly moved hundreds of copies of El Michels Affair’s ‘Enter the 37th Chamber‘ — an anniversary edition of an album containing instrumental soul versions of the Wu-Tang Clan’s iconic hit “C.R.E.A.M.,” Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” Ghostface Killah’s “Cherchez La Ghost” and more. 

The majority of direct-to-consumer sales came through TikTok Shop, an e-commerce platform inside the short-form video app that allows users to easily buy items without having to leave for another site. “We found some cool creators, sent them the vinyl, and they did an unboxing video, or talked about some of the tracks while playing the music in the background, and then linked directly to TikTok Shop,” explains Molly Bouchon, director of digital at Rostrum Records, which acquired Fat Beats in 2024. The El Michels Affair reissue is now sold out.

Trending on Billboard

TikTok Shop is relatively new and thus often overlooked by many artists and record labels, according to Itai Winter, vp of commercial partnerships at the marketing platform Genni, which helps match creators with music promotion campaigns. The fact that TikTok’s fate in the U.S. remains uncertain probably hasn’t helped; the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Friday (Jan. 10) about whether the app should be sold or shut down in the U.S.

Still, Winter estimates that “probably about a fifth of the For You page [on the app] are TikTok Shop-related posts” now. And harnessing that attention can pay off handsomely, at least when it comes to driving vinyl purchases: “We’re doing $15,000 to $20,000 in sales every month” through the platform, Bouchon says. 

And she hopes there might be room to do more: “How do we make TikTok Shop a $40,000 or $50,000 a month revenue builder for us?”

TikTok officially rolled out TikTok Shop in September 2023 as part of a push into the lucrative world of e-commerce. “We have a very aggressive plan to make a splash in the industry and make sure that people out there understand that TikTok is a place for shopping,” Nico Le Bourgeois, head of U.S. operations for TikTok Shop, told The New York Times. 

“With the number of people shopping on TikTok Shop every month nearly tripling since officially launching in September 2023, TikTok Shop is leveling the playing field so that any creator, merchant, brand and product can become a huge hit on our platform,” Le Bourgeois added in a recent statement to Billboard.

Genni became an official TikTok Shop partner as soon as it launched. “I got a really in-depth look and a chance to see what is actually driving sales,” Winter says. He frequently saw success when creators, rather than artists, posted about merchandise like records. Creators are incentivized to do so because they receive a commission on sales from links they share. Sellers can set commissions as they see fit; they’re often between 12% and 16%, according to Winter. 

Alex F., who goes by plastic.disc on TikTok, is a self-professed “huge music nerd” who posts all manner of vinyl-related videos on the platform — “my $7,000 turntable set-up“; “more weird and unusual records in my collection!” He now often includes links to TikTok Shop and appreciates the commissions he receives from sales because they help feed back into his vinyl habit. (Though he would post the videos “even if I wasn’t making money — it’s what I love,” he says.) 

These clips can spread far and wide: A plastic.disc post about Mac Miller’s 7″ single “The Spins” earned more than 2 million views, helping to move 744 copies of the record through TikTok Shop in a single week in October. 

Winter has worked out a rough rule of thumb: A million views on a TikTok video with a TikTok Shop link usually translates to around $6,000 to $8,000 in LP sales. “It’s really convenient for people to see an unboxing video, think, ‘That’s cool,’ and go buy it,” says Alex F. TikTok has “primed their users to make transactions quickly,” adds Carly Redford, former director of e-commerce at Manhead Merch. 

“I unfortunately know that,” Bouchon jokes. “I swear every day I get something from TikTok Shop.”

While TikTok Shop has the potential to turbocharge sales, many merchandise companies are not yet equipped to pivot rapidly to meet unexpected geysers of demand. They tend to work on months-long time horizons leading up to a release date. But release dates don’t matter as much on TikTok, which has consistently rejuvenated older songs.

As a result, “A lot of the fulfillment centers are having difficulty,” according to Johnny Cloherty, co-founder of the digital marketing company Songfluencer. “TikTok requires you to ship within two business days, and that’s tough for larger merchandise companies.”

One record that Winter was promoting went out of stock five times over the course of three months. In a way, this is a good problem to have. Still, “It can be frustrating,” he says. “You wake up to a viral video, and you’re selling 10 units an hour. Call the distribution center, and they’re like, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ll send you another batch in two weeks.’ I’m like, ‘I need that yesterday.’” 

Those delays mean that acts are leaving money on the table. On top of that, other TikTok Shop users may be siphoning off money that should go into artists’ pockets. Although TikTok Shop policy “expressly prohibits the unauthorized use of any third-party intellectual property rights,” Redford says, “There is so much bootleg merch [on the platform].” 

This is a common problem on e-commerce sites. “That happens on Etsy, on Pinterest, on Facebook Marketplace, wherever,” Cloherty says. However, “None of those platforms drive even close to the degree of consumption and discovery that TikTok does,” he continues, which could make bootlegs on TikTok Shop more detrimental. 

According to TikTok Shop’s Intellectual Property Rights report, published in October, the platform “implements proactive measures to identify and prevent potential infringements, significantly reducing their occurrence. Between July 2023 and June 2024, more than 5,254,000 products were prevented from going live.” In addition, “497,026 products were taken down after going live for IPR violations.”

Copyright owners can report infringement notices to TikTok Shop. In Redford’s experience, though, the most effective way for artists to combat bootlegs is to sell their own official products. 

Despite success stories like El Michels Affair’s Enter the 37th Chamber, Redford still hasn’t seen many artists experimenting with TikTok Shop campaigns. “I feel like labels aren’t really focusing enough on it,” says Amy Hart, a digital marketer and co-founder of prairy, a new indie label. “We’re actively talking about it and figuring that side of things out.”

As with all things TikTok, it’s nearly impossible to determine in advance what products — and what videos — are going to cause users to smash the “buy” button. “TikTok Shop is tricky,” acknowledges Tyler Melton, who posts vinyl-focused videos of his own as tyler.fortherecord. “It will either not care about your video at all, or maybe the way you do your title or your intro will hook people.” 

Winter’s biggest wins so far have come with vinyl. “We tried selling sweatshirts a couple of times, with only limited success,” he notes. 

He believes the merchandise needs pizzazz — users may be unmoved by a simple T-shirt with an artist’s logo. (The El Michels Affair LP was described in one TikTok video as “a sick black-and-yellow” pressing, while a recent Wiz Khalifa vinyl reissue featured eye-catching “retro video game inspired artwork.”) “You can’t look at TikTok Shop like you’re uploading everything in your merch store,” Cloherty says. “It’s more like, what merch items can spark a TikTok-worthy moment?”

“This is all pretty new,” Bouchon adds. “Now I think we’re all realizing, ‘Oh shit, we need to prioritize this.’”

09 Jan 2025

Zach Bryan Slams ‘Weird Couch Warriors’ for ‘Harassing’ His Friends: ‘Every Day I Lose a Little More Faith in Humanity’

Following singer-songwriter Zach Bryan‘s breakup with ex-girlfriend Brianna LaPaglia (aka Brianna Chickenfry), it seems some online users have been intent on trying to discover whether the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper has a new girlfriend. And according to Bryan, some of those users have been “harassing” his friends in the process.

In a series of Instagram Stories on Jan. 9, Bryan railed against “f–kin weird couch warriors” whom he claimed have been “attacking and belittling my friends on the internet because you’re assuming I have a girlfriend.” Bryan added, “Everyone wonders why I quit touring and don’t want to be attached to music anymore, meanwhile you’re calling my friends ugly and harassing them?”

Trending on Billboard

He also clarified his current dating status, saying, “I don’t have a girlfriend and don’t plan on having a girlfriend however I do have normal friends that I love very much and would go to the ends of the earth for…you do not know me. You never will know me. Stop acting like you do.”

He continued, “I am allowed to have love, laughter and good people in my life. No matter how bad of a person you think I am, go ahead and come for me. I can take all the hatred because I’m not a child. But do not come for my friends who do nothing but love and care for me. Everyone wants you to have fun and make great music but you guys are making it really hard to do that with my friends getting insulted and death threats every day.”

Bryan also noted, “Every day I lose a little more faith in humanity and everyday I get closer to never being in the public’s [sic] eye again which is incredibly sad because I truly do really love humans and being happy and joking around and laughing a lot. I love my life. I’ve worked very hard for it. Whether you think I deserve it or not. Stop being such sad and fat fingered internet sleuths to my friends. We’re all humans and I’m so tired of people thinking social media is a way to have a high moral ground on people they’ve never met? Guess people aren’t humans anymore since they can hide behind screens? Weird a–holes man ok I’m done.”

His series of Instagram Stories entries continued as the former Navy member (he was honorably discharged following eight years of service), who also weathered the passing of his mother in 2016, spoke out against people trying to give him unsolicited advice about grief and coping with fame.

“Ahh, one more thing: I don’t need people telling me to hang in there, sympathizing with me, or giving me advice on how to handle something or things they’ve never coped with,” he wrote. “I lost my mother, I’ve been in war zones, and I’ve battled this whole fame thing for five years. Respectfully I don’t need your unsolicited advice. I’m a grown man. I promise I can get through some little bullies on the internet hahaha. I am so terrifyingly unphased [sic] by the fake s–t people say about me online but coming for people I love and care for is my line and my final straw. Okay have a good day everyone love you miss you.”

Bryan recently wrapped his The Quittin’ Time Tour, which played a slew of top venues, including numerous stadiums, throughout 2024. Last year, he also issued the album The Great American Bar Scene, which rose to No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

09 Jan 2025

How The Castellows’ ‘Girl That Boy’ Got Country Fans Flipping Out With Its Late-Song Flip

A month ago, when holiday shoppers were scrolling through websites for gifts and rockin’ around the Christmas tree, it was easy to miss the quiet release of a three-song EP by the developing sister trio The Castellows.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

But tucked onto the end of Alabama Stone, issued Dec. 6 by Warner Music Nashville (WMN), was an exquisitely melancholy song, “Girl That Boy,” that’s a bit of a mystery. Even though the listener doesn’t know it’s a mystery the first time through until the last few seconds.

At the end of its three-and-a-half-minute run, “Girl That Boy” employs a lyrical flip, unexpectedly changing its innocent meaning. It’s jarring, refreshing – and practically demands a second listen, if for no other reason than to figure out how the storyline ended up in such a surprising place. It’s such a fluid revision that the song’s conclusion can be seen in at least five or six nuanced ways, a scenario that’s entertaining to the group.

Trending on Billboard

“People will talk to me about our songs and be like, ‘Oh, I love what you meant when you did that lyric,’” says The Castellows’ Ellie Balkcom. “I’m like, ‘That’s not what I meant, that’s not what I was intending.’ But also seeing alternate meanings from what other people have [imagined] is so cool.”

The inverted finale in “Girl That Boy” isn’t just a surprise to the audience. All five writers were likewise shocked when the song’s narrative wrapped with an unplanned meaning. “It just turned into a completely different song,” says Kendell Marvel (“Either Way,” “Right Where I Need To Be”).

Marvel and The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby (“Bluebird,” “Pontoon”) started building the mystery with all three of The Castellows – 20-something sisters Ellie, Lily and Powell Balkcom – on Nov. 29, 2023, in Nashville. Marvel didn’t know much about the group, but he was quickly impressed by their skill set and demeanor.

“They were super-smart, you can tell – very respectful and just talented musicians, so far ahead of their time for their age,” Marvel says. “I was really blown away by how grown up they were with their songwriting. And I just had that title, ‘Girl That Boy,’ and had this idea on what I thought it should be, and I thought they were the right artists for it. They were the right age to be saying something like this.”

He envisioned “Girl That Boy” as a mother warning her daughter about the pitfalls of dating a specific guy. But instead of drawing on The Castellows’ firsthand dating experiences, the writers instead focused on a long-established relationship. “They’re very close to their parents,” Hemby notes, “and we all started talking about what their mom would say about their dad. It was an interesting journey.”

Hemby started playing piano in the key of D, easing into a musical progression with a handful of major-seventh chords and minor triads that created a frail framework. She also launched into a melody that emphasized the moody notes in the chords. The text opened with a conversational line that incorporated the hook: “Mama said, ‘Girl, that boy will try to hold your hand.” They repeated the “Girl That Boy” title at the beginning of each successive section of verse – that boy would “try to kiss you” and “try to change your name.”

“We were using things we see in our parents to write that song,” Ellie says, “even if we weren’t [doing it] deliberately.”

But at the end of the last verse, as Mom tells her daughter that this guy is actually good for her, she suddenly changes the relationship: “Girl, that boy, he was your dad.” Suddenly, it was clear that “Girl That Boy” wasn’t really the romantic song it seemed; instead, it celebrated the protective nature of a typical father-daughter relationship. “We didn’t write the song thinking, ‘Oh, let’s flip it at the end,” Hemby recalls. “That was something we just ended on. It was kind of an accident.”

Though they’d written the verses in linear fashion, they struggled with the chorus that day and ultimately tabled it for another two weeks, meeting up again at 9 a.m. on Dec. 14 to tackle it again before they headed off to other writing sessions. “Just because you started that day doesn’t mean you’re supposed to finish it that day,” Hemby says. “It’s good to let it breathe for a minute.”

When they reassembled at Concord Music, the work went fairly quickly. They developed a chorus that suggested youth – “He’s gonna make you mad and act a fool/ ‘Cause he’s got a lot of growing up to do” – but would fit the eventual flip. To match it, the center of the chorus melody landed about six notes higher than the verses, providing a lift, though it concentrated on the related key of B-minor, emphasizing the mystery sonically. And that chorus never once included the hook.

Marvel recorded a gruff-but-emotional work tape, and the Balkcoms made their own work tape with three-part harmony that was, Ellie says, “rough around the edges.”

WMN tapped Durham, N.C.-based producer Brad Cook (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Bon Iver) to produce two songs. But once they got into Sound Emporium, they expanded the work to five tracks, including “Girl That Boy,” which Cook hadn’t previously heard. After Ellie played it through, the studio group – including Cook on bass, Powell on banjo, Ellie and Mike Harris on guitar, and Eric Slick on drums – instinctively chased down the arrangement without any real planning. Not that they needed any.

“A big part of my job is reharmonizing things,” Cook says. “Maybe we can pull out a different emotion if we reharmonize a part of the song, or switch up the changes here and there. But that one was definitely as-is.”

The musicians applied a less-is-more approach, with minimal fills and swells while The Castellows’ parents watched from the control room. Once those spare instrumental parts – including Ellie’s piano overdub – were completed, the Balkcoms cut their vocals facing each other with three different mics in the center of the main studio with Lily on lead vocal, Ellie singing high harmonies and Powell on the low end. It created more of a unified dynamic than had they worked in separate vocal booths.

“I’ve had this happen with young people before, where most of their entire experience has been them hearing each other in proximity,” Cook notes. “To separate that can take out an element of what they understand at this stage. I hadn’t done that, frankly, in a very long time, trying to get isolated group vocals with minimal bleed in the same room.”

At a later date, Cook had Thomas Rhett’s steel guitarist, Whit Wyatt, put a little more melancholy on the track, and Cook overdubbed a cello part he wasn’t sure The Castellows would appreciate. “We told him to turn it up,” Ellie says.

The result is a gorgeous, haunting performance that sounds a tad harmonically like the Trio: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. It may have made just a small ripple during the holidays, but some those who unwrapped “Girl That Boy” have flipped out over its flip, and its sweet vulnerability.

“I try not to pay attention to it too much,” Ellie says, “But people who know us personally [were] like, ‘I cried when I heard the end of the song.’ My cousin sent me a picture of her in tears. We’ve gotten a really positive reaction from it. I’m happy – really happy – it’s out.”