Author: djfrosty
Page: 132
Halsey‘s path to chart-topping success began in the most unexpected of places: the New Jersey hardcore scene.
In a recently surfaced TikTok video, the Grammy-nominated artist, whose real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, reflected on her early days organizing shows for hardcore and metal bands.
“I used to promote hardcore shows in Jersey before I started making music,” Halsey in the clip during a meet-and-greet event at Ulta for her About-Face beauty line. “I did a lot of hardcore but then also some of the more commercial hardcore. The biggest show I ever booked, I was 16, was like August Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Halsey also shared that her senior yearbook quote was inspired by the hardcore band Defeater, adding, “I’ve said before that I might have quoted Hundredth, too, so who knows.”
Trending on Billboard
The singer’s roots in hardcore may seem worlds away from her current pop dominance, but certainly add context to the genre-blending ethos that has defined her career. Her 2015 debut album, Badlands, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2, a position she has since matched with Manic in 2020 and If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power in 2021. Halsey earned her first solo Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with the 2018 smash hit “Without Me,” while her latest album, The Great Impersonator (2024), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts, selling 93,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including 81,000 in traditional album sales, according to Luminate.
The Great Impersonator marked her third leader on the latter following If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power (2021) and Badlands (2015). It also entered Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart at No. 2, driven by strong vinyl sales, which accounted for 26,000 of the total.
The album features tracks like “Panic Attack” and “Ego,” which debuted on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at No. 25 and No. 30, respectively. “Ego” made notable progress on radio, peaking at No. 25 on Adult Pop Airplay and reaching No. 28 on Pop Airplay.
Halsey’s foray into rock and metal began long before her chart-topping success. Her 2021 album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, featured collaborations with rock icons like Dave Grohl and Lindsey Buckingham. With The Great Impersonator, Halsey continued her rock-inspired exploration, even recreating iconic looks of artists like David Bowie, Cher, and Bruce Springsteen in the lead-up to the album’s October 2024 release.
After almost 16 years spent as The Weeknd, Abel Tesfaye says he is considering retiring his famous musical moniker after his upcoming projects.
Tesfaye spoke at length about his experiences with music in recent years as part of a new cover story with Variety, which coincides with the release of his new album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, on Jan. 24. While discussing the journey that led to this new record, Tesfaye looked back to an infamous show at California’s SoFi Stadium in Sept. 2022. Just four songs in, Tesfaye’s failing voice necessitated the cancelation of the gig’s remainder.
As he explains though, a trip to his doctor resulted in nothing out of the ordinary. “And that’s when we came to the realization that it was all up here,” he told the publication while pointing at his head.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
It was the combination of factors – ranging from the myriad items on his already-packed schedule to the mental exhaustion – that has since weighed heavily on Tesfaye as he strides toward the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow. Promoted with billboards that teased an impending end, and social posts that indicated his story would conclude with this final ‘chapter’, Variety pushed Tesfaye about what his repeated references “closing this chapter” relate to. “I would say my existence as the Weeknd,” he explains.
Trending on Billboard
“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he continues. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
“Part of me actually was thinking, ‘You lost your voice because it’s done; you said what you had to say. Don’t overstay at the party — you can end it now and live a happy life’,” he adds, looking back at his canceled 2022 show. “Put the bow on it: ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’? Now we’re here. When is the right time to leave, if not at your peak? Once you understand who I am too much, then it’s time to pivot.”
As Tesfaye asserts, though the closing of this chapter may see The Weeknd as fans know it coming to an end, it won’t be the end of music that he makes.
“I don’t think I can stop doing that,” he says. “But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, the Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now. I think I’ve overcome every challenge as this persona, and that’s why I’m really excited about this film, because I love this challenge.
“But I just want to know what comes after,” he adds. “I want to know what tomorrow looks like.”
Tesfaye is scheduled to release his sixth studio album as The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow, on Jan. 24. On May 16, his film of the same name will be released via Lionsgate. Directed by Trey Edward Shults (Waves, It Comes At Night), the film will mark Tesfaye’s feature-starring debut, and serves as something of an extension of the forthcoming album.
The Beastie Boys may have asserted there was “No Sleep till Brooklyn”, but a recent admission from Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale has indicated this may extend to Tool concerts in Pennsylvania, too.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Speaking to Guitar Player magazine recently, Hale opened up about ten records that changed her life, specifically focusing on the impact of albums by artists such as Black Sabbath, Jeff Buckley, Alice Cooper, and even Hanson.
Another artist that she focused on was Tool, whose 2001 album Lateralus came about four years into the life of Halestorm, which she had co-founded with her brother Arejay. The record was a major success for the metal outfit, giving them their first of three consecutive appearances atop the Billboard 200, and resulting in the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for lead single “Schism”.
Trending on Billboard
For Hale, however, the record represents something of a humorous memory which can be traced back to Tool’s performance in Philadelphia in September 2001.
“My little bro Arejay was getting really good on the drums,” Hale told the publication. “He had learned Tool’s song ‘Schism’ from the radio, so I thought that I should get him the whole album for his birthday. We just devoured it. I ended up getting really into it myself. Listening to their music was just like watching a horror film.
“I had a shitty waitress job, and I got us tickets to see Tool at Hersheypark. I was so stoked. Then Arejay did something to piss off our parents, so they wouldn’t allow him to go. I thought, Okay, this could be an opportunity to ask somebody out on a date, which I did. I asked this guy Nate, and he said yes. I was like, Sweet! We didn’t have great seats, but it didn’t matter — the show was amazing. I was singing every word. Halfway through, I looked at my date and saw that he had fallen asleep — total deal-breaker for me. So in a weird way, Tool’s Lateralus was a life-changer. My brother still teases me about it: ‘I wouldn’t have fallen asleep.’”
Though Halestorm haven’t yet managed to score a support slot for the likes of Tool, the two bands have however performed on the same lineup from time to time, no doubt inspiring plenty of sly jokes between the Hale siblings.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
The wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County in California have devastated homes and misplaced longtime residents as firefighters battle the blazes. The community of Altadena, which has a significant number of Black residents, is suffering from the damages of the wildfires as they forge a path forward.
Several outlets have covered the damage from the wildfires in Altadena and the town of Pasadena, including Pasadena Star-News and CBS News. The Eaton fire has damaged around 4,000 structures according to the Star-News, adding that 18 percent of Altadena’s residents are Black along with 7 percent of Pasadena residents.
“This will (displace) a lot of Black people, said Sheila Foster, who lost homes in both Altadena and Pasadena. “Some of them are elderly, some were barely holding on before the fire, trying to keep their property because it was going down from generation to generation up here.”
As seen in Yahoo! News by way of TheGrio, the Eaton fire is among four blazes which include the Palisades fires, and as seen both burning over 30,000 acres of land and over 10,000 structures total. There is a multinational effort made by firefighters from the north in Canada and to the South in Mexico. This is especially interesting to note considering the aggressive tone towards the named countries from President-elect Donald Trump.
On X, formerly Twitter, some are mentioning the devastation endured by the residents of Altadena and Pasadena, while also noting efforts of spectacular scope are being made to support those displaced by the blazes. Those reactions can be viewed below.
—
Photo: Getty
As wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles, the Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund is stepping in to help. On Sunday (Jan. 12), the organization announced a pledge of $1 million to support fire relief and rebuilding efforts in the region. The funds will be directed to organizations assisting the Los Angeles community, […]
Congratulations are in order for Jesy Nelson, who is expecting her first child.
The former Little Mix member, 33, shared the exciting news on social media on Sunday (Jan. 12). In the post, Nelson and her partner, musician Zion Foster, hinted that they’re expecting twins.
“She’s eating for 3 now,” the couple wrote in a joint Instagram post, accompanied by a pair of baby emojis and a photo of Nelson proudly showing off her baby bump.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Fans quickly took to the comments, speculating that the announcement was a subtle hint about the twins. “JESY IS A FULL MOTHER OF 2 YOU GUYS,” one fan wrote, while another added, “I knew it, I saw it a long time ago… Congrats to the 4? Of yous!!!”
The sweet photo shows a beaming Nelson wearing a white tank top, revealing her growing belly, while a smiling Foster stands behind her with his hand on her stomach.
Trending on Billboard
Nelson and Foster, who have been romantically linked since January 2022, have had an on-again, off-again relationship, according to Daily Mail. This pregnancy announcement marks their first joint Instagram post since November 2024, when Nelson shared pictures of herself standing next to a car with the caption, “Where we going then?”
The couple also released a song together, titled “Mine,” in August 2024, and danced to the track in a TikTok video. They’ve teased additional unreleased material on social media as well.
Since leaving Little Mix in late 2020 after the release of their sixth studio album, Confetti, Nelson has pursued a solo career, which has been marked by some controversy. Her debut single “Boyz,” released in 2021 and featuring Nicki Minaj, drew criticism for accusations of “Blackfishing” in the music video.
See Nelson and Foster’s pregnancy announcement on Instagram here.
Teddy Swims and Giveon’s soulful collaboration “Are You Even Real” has emerged as the winner of this week’s new music poll, which features artists spanning various genres. The track was voted the top new release by music fans in a poll published Friday (Jan. 10) on Billboard. “Are You Even Real” garnered nearly 34% of […]
The wildfires that have been devouring multiple neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area for the last five days have caused so much misery and heartbreak for so many that it may seem trifling to point out the impact they have had on awards season. But it’s not. Awards shows aren’t just about privileged celebrities, but also about the thousands of everyday people who make their livings in support roles — caterers, bartenders, limo drivers, hairstylists, make-up artists and many more.
The latest show to be affected by the fires is the Producers Guild of America Awards. The nominations were set to be announced on Sunday (Jan. 12) at noon PT, but have been pushed to next week. “Out of care and concern for those being affected by the fires, we will be holding the announcement of the PGA award nominees until next week,” the guild said in a statement on Sunday.
The big question is whether the Grammys will go forward on Feb. 2, which is just three weeks away. Billboard has reached out to the Recording Academy; an answer is expected this week.
Trending on Billboard
If the show is postponed, this will be the third time in the past five years that Music’s Biggest Night has been pushed back due to outside events. The 2021 and 2022 shows were both postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 show was bumped from Jan. 31 to March 14. The 2022 ceremony was pushed all the way from Jan. 31 to April 3.
The Oscars are set for March 2, which gives the Motion Picture Academy and the show’s producers more breathing room. The fires have already impacted the Oscars voting schedule. Academy CEO Bill Kramer wrote a letter to all Academy members on Wednesday (Jan. 8), one day after the first fires exploded.
“Given the fire situation, we want to share some updates regarding an extension to the Oscars nominations voting window… Nominations voting for the 97th Oscars opened this morning at 9 a.m. PT. We will be extending the voting window by two days to give members more time to cast their ballots. Voting will now close on Tuesday, January 14 at 5 p.m. PT. As such, our Oscars Nominations Announcement will move from Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19.”
Other shows have also been impacted. The Critics Choice Awards, which were set to air live on E! tonight, were postponed to Jan. 26. (It is unknown if they will be able to proceed on that date.) The show was to be held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., which is located just a few miles from Pacific Palisades, where the fires originated.
In retrospect, the Golden Globes, held one week ago at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, were extremely lucky. The show concluded just 38 hours before L.A.’s wind and fire nightmare began.
Lil Baby collects his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, all tallied consecutively, as WHAM opens atop the chart dated Jan. 18. The set earned 140,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 9, according to Luminate. The rapper previously topped the list with his last three releases: It’s Only Me (2022), The Voice of the Heroes (with Lil Durk, 2021) and My Turn (2020).
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In total, WHAM marks Lil Baby’s seventh top 10 on the Billboard 200, stretching back to 2019’s Harder Than Ever (No. 3 peak).
Trending on Billboard
WHAM’s Friday (Jan. 3) release was announced by Lil Baby in late December.
Also in the top 10: Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS debuts at No. 2, securing the superstar his seventh top 10-charting set. Bunny’s album was released on an off-cycle Sunday (Jan. 5) and, thus, it arrives on the chart with only five days of activity (as the chart’s tracking week runs Friday through Thursday). The album’s release date was announced on Dec. 25.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 18, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Jan. 14). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.
Of WHAM’s 140,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 90,000 (equaling 119.77 million on-demand official streams of the streaming version of the album’s songs; the set debuts at No. 3 on the Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 50,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
WHAM was available to purchase as a 15-song standard digital download album and a standard CD (the latter exclusively sold via the artist’s official webstore). On Jan. 7, an extended edition of WHAM — with four additional songs — was released exclusively via Lil Baby’s label webstore for purchase. The extended edition was later issued widely through streaming services and digital retailers on Friday (Jan. 10). Both digital versions of the album were discounted to $4.99 in the webstores of the artist and his label (Motown), along with in the iTunes Store.
The standard version of WHAM features guest turns from 21 Savage, Future, GloRilla, Rylo Rodriguez, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Rod Wave.
Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS starts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 122,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 113,500 (equaling 152.16 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 17 songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 8,000 and TEA units comprise 500. The album was only available as a standard 17-song set via streaming services and to purchase as a digital download (also discounted to $4.99 in Bad Bunny’s official webstore and the iTunes Store).
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS was preceded by a pair of entries from the album on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart: “EL CLúB” and “PIToRRO DE COCO.”
Three former No. 1s follow on the Billboard 200: SZA’s SOS falls 1-3 on the (113,000 equivalent album units earned; down 13%), Kendrick Lamar’s GNX moves 2-4 (67,000; down 4%) and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet slips 3-5 (51,000; down 9%).
The Wicked film soundtrack dips 4-6 (45,000 equivalent album units; down 7%); Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft falls 5-7 (43,000; down 5%); Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 8 (40,000; down 1%); Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us is steady at No. 9 (38,000; down 5%); and Tyler, The Creator’s former leader CHROMAKOPIA is stationary at No. 10 (37,000; down 3%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Miley Cyrus is sharing her reaction to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
On Saturday (Jan. 11), the 32-year-old superstar singer took to social media to express her support for those affected by the wildfires ravaging Southern California. In her Instagram Story, Cyrus also reflected on the fire that destroyed her Malibu, Calif., home in 2018.
“This image hits me hard today,” the “Flowers” singer captioned the post, which featured a photo of her destroyed house. “This is a photo taken of my front porch in 2018 after losing our house in the Woolsey fires. It’s a feeling you don’t ever forget.”
She continued, “Walking up to the door you would pass through daily, looking forward to being greeted by the ones you love like you always do but instead being met by a pile of ash and rubble.”
Trending on Billboard
The Hannah Montana alum expressed that her “soul aches” for the victims of the L.A. wildfires. “It’s beyond heartbreaking. Los Angeles represents ‘living the dream’ but the reality today is wreckage and destruction.”
Cyrus also shared links to organizations supporting wildfire relief, including the Malibu Foundation, which she co-founded.
“Time, resources and dedication from inside and outside of our community will heal us, but it hurts deeply for now,” the singer wrote, signing off with “Love always.”
For health alerts, evacuation updates and additional shelter information as the wildfire battle continues, go to L.A. County’s emergency website here.
A number of organizations, listed here, are also offering help to those impacted by the California wildfires, which have been blazing through the L.A. area and causing extensive damage since Tuesday. Musicians and music industry professionals who are affected can get details about assistance here.
In November 2018, the Woolsey Fire in Malibu destroyed the home of Cyrus and her then-husband, actor Liam Hemsworth, leaving her devastated, as she shared on social media at the time.
“My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong,” Cyrus tweeted after her evacuation, expressing that she was “completely devastated” by the loss. “I am one of the lucky ones. My animals and LOVE OF MY LIFE made it out safely & that’s all that matters right now.”