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31 Oct 2024

Charli XCX Will Serve Double Duty as Host & Musical Guest on ‘Saturday Night Live’

Charli XCX is doing a full “360” on an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live, where the pop superstar will serve as both the host and the musical guest.

On Thursday (Oct. 31), the long-running comedy show announced the host and musical guests for it’s next two episodes. Following John Mulaney and Chappell Roan’s pre-election run on Saturday (Nov. 2), comedian Bill Burr is set to return to the show with musical guest Mk.Gee the week following the election (Nov. 9). The next weekend (Nov. 16), the Brat hitmaker will host and perform on the late-night comedy show.

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It will be a nice change of pace of Charli. Though she’s served as the musical guest twice before, this will mark the singer’s first time serving as the evening’s host. But that certainly hasn’t stopped the show from referencing Charli, especially in the Brat era. Cast member Bowen Yang dressed in full Charli drag for the season premiere, performing in a sketch in which his version of the pop star hosted her Talk Talk Show.

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Even Charli herself was impressed by the sketch. Speaking to Howard Stern, the singer said she thought Yang did “a great job” performing as her. “I think SNL is iconic … we had an inkling it was coming and so we were very excited about it,” she said at the time. “I love Bowen … I was very impressed with the hair texture, actually. I thought it was a really good wig. It was good, it was cool.”

The news of Charli’s upcoming performance comes just after the star wrapped up her co-headlining Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan. In a recent interview with Billboard, the singer’s creative team revealed the difficulties and triumphs of making the headline-crashing shows possible. “Turning an arena into a club was the No. 1 challenge, and when the arena was literally shaking, I was like, ‘OK, success,’” creative director Imogene Strauss said.

31 Oct 2024

Taylor Swift Donation To Provide 75,000 Meals For South Louisiana Families in Need: ‘When Kindness Meets Action, Magic Happens’

As she prepares to wind-down the U.S. portion of her globe-hopping Eras Tour this weekend, Taylor Swift is still thinking about the last city she visited on the career-spanning outing. Second Harvest Food Bank – Feeding South Louisiana announced on Wednesday (Oct. 30) that the singer gave a large donation that will fill the pantries for a huge number of families in the region.

“When kindness meets action, magic happens. Today, we’re thrilled to share that @TaylorSwift has helped fuel our mission to end hunger with a donation that means 75,000 meals for South Louisiana families in need!” the organization wrote on Instagram a week after Swift rocked New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome during a three-show run. “This kind of generosity reminds us that making a difference is possible, together, with people who truly care.”

Second Harvest, which did not announce the dollar amount of the donation, also encouraged anyone else wanting to provide meals for the residents of South Louisiana to click here.

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Swift has made a habit of donating to local food banks ahead of Eras Tour stops in cities including Glendale, AZ and Las Vegas according to the recipients of her generosity. Last December, she also donated $1 million to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee after tornadoes left at least six people dead and dozens hurt with hundreds of buildings damaged on Dec. 9, 2023.

And, earlier this month, the singer sent a $5 million donation to Feed America to help sponsor relief efforts in areas affected by back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton.

After more than a year on the road celebrating her catalog on the Eras Tour, Swift will wind down her U.S. dates this weekend with a three-show run at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (Nov. 1-3) with guest Gracie Abrams. She will then close the lid on the whole shebang with six nights at Rogers Centre in Toronto (Nov. 14-16, Nov. 21-23) and the final, final shows at BC Place in Vancouver (Dec. 6-8).

Check out Second Harvest’s post below.

31 Oct 2024

Graham Lyle, Co-Writer of ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It,’ to Be Honored at 2024 BMI London Awards

Graham Lyle, best-known for co-writing the Tina Turner classic “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” will be presented with the BMI Icon Award at the 2024 BMI London Awards to be held on Dec. 9 at The Savoy in London. The private event will be hosted by BMI president & CEO Mike O’Neill.

“What’s Love” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1984 and went on to win Grammys for record and song of the year. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. Lyle co-wrote the song with Terry Britten, who also produced Turner’s single. Britten and Lyle later co-wrote two more big hits for Turner, both of which peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 – “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” from the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and “Typical Male.” Thus, the team was responsible for three of Turner’s six top 10 solo hits.

“We’re very honoured to salute the incomparable songwriter Graham Lyle with the BMI Icon Award in celebration of a lifetime of timeless hit songs that deeply resonate with global audiences,” O’Neill said in a statement.

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The ceremony will also pay tribute to the British and European songwriters and publishers of the previous year’s most performed songs on U.S. streaming, radio and television from BMI’s repertoire.

Many artists have revived “What’s Love” over the years. Rapper Warren G recorded a hip-hop version in 1996 featuring Adina Howard, which reached No. 32 on the Hot 100. The song was sampled in the hit “What’s Luv?” by Fat Joe featuring Ashanti, which reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2002. Norwegian DJ/producer Kygo released a remix with Turner in 2020. Mickey Guyton sang it at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2021, when Turner was inducted as a solo artist.

Lyle began his professional journey as one of the first music creators to sign to The Beatles’ Apple Company, alongside songwriter Benny Gallagher in the late 1960s. Together, the duo became founding members of the British rock band McGuinness Flint, and later joined forces to form Gallagher and Lyle, where they released eight albums and landed two Hot 100 hits in 1976, while signed to A&M Records – “I Wanna Stay with You” and “Heart on My Sleeve.”

In 1981, Lyle formed his own publishing company GOODSINGLE, LTD, to write for other artists. In addition to his longtime partnership with Turner, Lyle has also penned hits such as “Just Good Friends” by Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, “Hold Me (Just a Little Longer Tonight)” by Etta James, “You’re the Star” by Rod Stewart and “When You Love Somebody (I’m Saving My Love for You)” by Patti LaBelle.

Previous BMI Icons include Sting, Gary Kemp, Graham Gouldman, Sir Tim Rice, The Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ray Davies, John Fogerty, David Foster, Peter Gabriel, the Jacksons, Carole King, Kris Kristofferson, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Queen, Nile Rodgers, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.

31 Oct 2024

TIDAL Cuts More Staff: ‘We Are Going to Be Smaller, Focus on Fewer Things’

TIDAL plans to lay off additional employees, its second round of cuts in less than a year.

“We have made some internal changes to our TIDAL team to focus on serving artists in the most meaningful way,” a TIDAL spokesperson told Billboard in a statement. “This involved the elimination of some roles across our business and design teams. We are going to be smaller, focus on fewer things, and move with a relentless approach to product development.”

In a memo to staff obtained by Fortune, Block CEO Jack Dorsey wrote that he wants to the company to function “like a startup again.”

“We’re going to part ways with a number of folks on our team,” Dorsey continued. “We’re going to lead with engineering and design, and remove the product management and product marketing functions entirely. We’re reducing the size of our design team and foundational roles supporting TIDAL, and we will consider reducing engineering over the next few weeks as we have more clarity around leadership going forward.”

These layoffs follow a 10% staff cut that the company made in December, 2023. “TIDAL has carefully considered how to right-size our team to ensure we are able to continue to build and invest in critical areas of the business,” a company spokesperson said in a statement last year. “We do not take these decisions lightly, and we are sincerely grateful for the contributions of our impacted teammates.”

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Similar cuts have been a common sight across the music and tech industries in the last 24 months, hitting Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Spotify, Downtown Music, BMG, SoundCloud, and more.

“What you do see, in general, is the music industry is maturing,” Downtown Music president Peter van Rijn told Billboard in January. “The digital growth is still there, but it’s slowing down.”

31 Oct 2024

Cardi B & GloRilla to Appear at Kamala Harris’ Milwaukee Rally

It’s “TGIF” indeed for Vice President Kamala Harris‘ rally and concert set for this Friday (Nov. 1). The Harris-Walz campaign announced on Thursday (Oct. 31) that rappers Cardi B and GloRilla will be on hand to support the Democratic ticket during the When We Vote We Win event in Milwaukee, Wisc.

The Grammy-winning rapper is set to speak during the event, while the “Yeah Glo!” artist will perform. Also set to take the stage for performances are The Isley Brothers, Flo Milli, MC Lyte and DJ Gemini Gilly. This won’t be the first time that Cardi and Glo will share the stage. In 2022, the two artists delivered the first television performance of their Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit collab “Tomorrow 2” at the American Music Awards.

Friday’s rally is part of a series of events the Harris-Walz campaign is holding around the country to help mobilize voters to register to vote and cast their ballots for the Nov. 5 presidential election. Wednesday’s event in Madison, Wisc., featured Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons, Remi Wolfe, as well as The National’s Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger. Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland made headlines at the Houston rally on Oct. 25, with the pop superstar giving her full support to Harris in a passionate speech as she introduced the vice president.

Cardi B has long supported the sitting VP’s run for the 2024 presidential election. On June 30, she suggested that President Joe Biden should drop out of the race and let his VP run instead — which he did on July 21. Since Harris officially threw her hat in the ring, the rapper has continued to support the former senator, and has also defended the politician from sexist attacks. “Listen, if you don’t like her as a politician, that’s you. But if you disrespect her because she’s a woman? It’s very disgusting,” Cardi said during an X Spaces in late July.

GloRilla recently shared her support for the VP in a video posted to her social media, offering four reasons why she believes the Democratic ticket should earn people’s votes. Among them were “a woman’s right to choose and “protect the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Those interested in attending Friday’s When We Vote We Win rally in Milwaukee can visit the Harris-Walz campaign’s RSVP page and text “go” to 30330 for updates. The time and exact location for the event has not yet been announced.

31 Oct 2024

How Luis Alfonso Soared in From the Mountains to Become a Regional Colombian Breakthrough Star

Música popular Colombiana made its debut at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards, with a show-opening performance by Luis Alfonso. It was a historic moment for the fast-growing genre that fuses Regional Mexican music and the string music known as carrilera in Colombia.

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“The achievement and magnitude of how important this was for the Colombian popular genre is indescribable,” Alfonso tells Billboard. “For me, having been at such an important space is a feeling of gratitude to all the beautiful people who make this possible. Thank you Billboard for giving me the confidence, the opportunity, and being able to show the world our music, culture, and essence.”

During the opening set, the artist hailing from Popayán, Colombia performed a medley of his hit “Tequila Con Cerveza,” originally recorded with urban star Blessd, followed by current viral hit “Chismofilia.” Prior to performing at the awards ceremony, Alfonso also spoke about música popular Colombiana at a panel during Billboard Latin Music Week that also featured country-mates Paola Jara, Yeison Jiménez and Pipe Bueno.

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But long before making waves at Latin music’s biggest event, Alfonso made a name for himself in the Regional Colombian genre with a subgenre he created known as “contentoso,” where he laces feel-good and fun melodies with música popular. 

His best representation, up to now, is his viral track “Chismofilia,” which earned his first Billboard entry on the Latin Pop Airplay chart this year. 

“We were going to do something that people can identify with. What are we missing in our lives? An envious person, a gossiper,” he explains. “Every person in life has a gossiper who is paying attention to what you are doing. I thought, I am going to make an important song in the market, and thanks to the envious people, we are trending every day. ‘Chismofilia’ is love of gossip.” 

Alfonso’s love for music derives from his grandfather, a man he describes as humble and who had great knowledge of Mexican culture and its music. He credits Regional Mexican legends such as Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, Antonio Aguilar, and Vicente Fernandez as some of his first inspirations. 

His biggest influences, however, are his compatriots Jhonny Rivera and Arelys Henao. The former because of his humility and transparency, and the latter because of her advice as a mother figure—both which he admires for their long-lasting and inspirational careers in música popular Colombiana. 

In 2020, Alfonso inked a deal with La Industria Inc., after being discovered at a birthday party by the cousin of Juan Diego Medina (CEO of La Industria). Since, he’s unleashed three live albums and his debut studio album Contentoso in 2024. 

At the heart of his flourishing success, Alfonso takes heartfelt pride in being a “montañero” (mountaineer). 

“It’s everything. It’s the glue that unites all my passions,” he notes. “Being a mountaineer is a person who loves the countryside, the town, horses, animals, eating rice with egg, writing poems. I think that is all that my music means, because the music I make is music for the bars and for the town.”

Below, learn more about Billboard’s Latin Artist on the Rise for October:

Name: Luis Alfonso

Age: 30

Recommended Song: “Chismofilia”

Major Accomplishment: Performing for the first time at Coliseo Medplus in Bogotá on Oct. 26, where he sang to more than 15,000 fans. “It’s a pride, a dream come true, and a goal in life that inspires all my colleagues,” he notes. “It was a turning point in my personal and professional life. It was the key that opened the door to take a step towards other horizons. When I opened my ticketing sale, we had three months until the date to achieve the sold-out date, but we did it in the first month. I still can’t take in the huge achievement we made. I’m still on a cloud of happiness.”

What’s Next?: Luis Alfonso promises upcoming collaborations, albums and a tour in Europe, but above all, “many beautiful things and music for ‘berracos.’” (Berracos is slang in Colombia for someone who is determined and hardworking). 

31 Oct 2024

2024 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards Announced: Full List

The winners of the 55th annual ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards for outstanding books, articles, liner notes and broadcast programs were announced on Friday (Oct. 31). They included works that explored such music greats as Donna Summer, Sinéad O’Connor, John Williams and Miles Davis.

The 2024 award recipients are as follows:

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The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award in pop music: Directors Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, for their HBO documentary, Love to Love You, Donna Summer.

The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award in concert music: Journalist and author Jon Burlingame for his interview with John Williams on the Disney Music Group podcast, Disney for Scores.

Additionally, a Special Recognition Award in the above category is given in memory of “the alt-country impresario” Jeremy Tepper, musician, producer, programmer and executive director of SiriusXM’s “Outlaw Country” and Willie’s Roadhouse” channels.

The ASCAP Foundation Paul Williams “Loved the Liner Notes” Award for pop music: Deanie Parker and Robert Gordon for “Scribble and Hum” from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos on Craft Recordings. 

Special Recognition Awards in the above category are also given to Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt for Matmos: Return to Archive on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and also Jeff Place and John W. Troutman for Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick, 1958-1971, on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

The “Loved the Liner Notes” Award was established in 2016 and is funded by ASCAP Foundation president Paul Williams.

The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in pop music: John Szwed for Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and also Allyson McCabe for Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters, published by University of Texas Press.

A Special Recognition Award in the above category goes to Henry Threadgill and Brent Hayes Edwards for Threadgill’s memoir Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music, published by Alfred A. Knopf.

The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in concert music: Denise Von Glahn for Circle of Winners: How the Guggenheim Foundation Composition Awards Shaped American Musical Culture, published by University of Illinois Press, and also Lois Svard for The Musical Brain: What Students, Teachers and Performers Need to Know, published by Oxford University Press.

Special Recognition Awards in the above category are given to Dan Gutstein for Poor Gal: The Cultural History of Little Liza Jane, published by University Press of Mississippi, and also Howard Pollack for Samuel Barber: His Life and Legacy, published by University of Illinois Press.

 The award recipients for articles published in 2023 are as follows:

The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for an article in the pop music field: Jeffrey Magee for his article “’Honor the Source’: Race, Representation and Intellectual Property in Jelly’s Last Jam,” published in the journal Studies in Musical Theatre.

The Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for an article in the concert music field: Tina Frühauf for her article “The Dialectics of Nationalism: Jaromír Weinberger’s Schwanda the Bagpiper and Anti-Semitism in Interwar Europe,” published in Cambridge Opera Journal.

The Virgil Thomson Award for outstanding music criticism in the pop music field: Lewis Porter for his article, “Miles Davis Did Not Exactly Steal Tunes,” published by Playback with Lewis Porter! on Substack.

The Virgil Thomson Award for outstanding music criticism in the concert music field: Kerry O’Brien and William Robin for their work, “On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement,” published by University of California Press.

Established in 1967 to honor the memory of composer, critic, commentator and former ASCAP president Deems Taylor, The ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards are made possible by the generous support of the Virgil Thomson Foundation. Thomson was a noted American composer and critic and a former member of the ASCAP board of directors.

31 Oct 2024

Billy Corgan’s Wife Says Couple’s Son Narrowly Escaped Injury When Car Crashed Into Madame Zuzu’s Teashop

Billy Corgan posted a note from his wife Chloe on Wednesday (Oct. 30) about an incident at the Smashing Pumpkins singer’s suburban Chicago tea shop in which a car crashed through the front window. “Important notice about Madame Zuzu’s! Thank you for your support and understanding,” Corgan wrote on X in a post that included the note from his wife.

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“This afternoon at Madame Zuzu’s, a car (in circumstances which remain under investigation) drove over the curb and into Madame Zuzu’s and sadly injuring one person — my mother, Jenny; who was spending the day and lunching with my son Augustus,” wrote Chloe Mendel Corgan. “Thankfully, he was able to leap out of the way and was not injured.”

The couple thanked the Highland Park and Deerfield first responders for their help and Chloe noted that the shop will be closed until further notice, with an update coming soon. Madame Zuzu’s, which serves a variety of teas and vegan items, opened in its current location in Sept. 2020.

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In August, Corgan and his wife announced that they are expecting their third child, who will join son Augustus, 8 and daughter Philomena, 5. “We are overjoyed to announce that our family is growing!” Mendel Corgan, 31, told People magazine. “It’s an exciting time for us, although unexpected!” Corgan, 57, added, “On Sunday, we shared the news with our children, Augustus Juppiter and Philomena Clementine. While Augustus was overjoyed, Clementine, the younger of the two, asked if the baby was made already and shed a few tears of concern, which was honestly adorable. Now, both kids are beaming, and it makes it so much fun to share the joy of bringing more love into our family. We are truly blessed.”

The Smashing Pumpkins are gearing up to launch the South American run of their The World Is a Vampire tour, which will kick off in Brasilia, Brazil at the Arena BRB on Friday (Nov. 1).

See Corgan’s post below.

31 Oct 2024

Chloe Fineman Says She ‘Respects’ Chappell Roan Too Much To Do Her Impression on ‘SNL’ This Weekend… Maybe

Chloe Fineman has a well-established reputation for doing wickedly funny celebrity impressions, from her killer Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears takes to her wacky, mega-energy JoJo Siwa, eerily accurate Timothée Chalamet, as well as perfect takes on Nicole Kidman, Elizabeth Olsen and, of course, her daffy Jennifer Coolidge.

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So when Entertainment Tonight asked the comedian earlier this week if she was working on dialing in an impression of over-the-top pop star Chappell Roan for this weekend’s episode where the “Hot To Go” singer will be the musical guest alongside six-time host comedian John Mulaney, the typically game-for-anything Fineman wasn’t so sure.

“I might have one [an impression], but I also respect her too much that I’m like, ya know….” Fineman said of Roan, whose brash, colorful stage persona seems ripe for a Fineman take. “I feel like I have to get a temperature check,” Fineman added about what sounds like a game-time decision.

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Fineman also said she was psyched for the combo of Roan and Mulaney — a stand-up star who was is also a former SNL writer — admitting, “that wasn’t necessarily on my vision board, the two of them together, so I’m excited.” In September, Fineman wore her Roan fandom on her sleeve, telling People that she ” definitely had a Chappell Roan summer, as we all did… So, I was like, I can’t believe I might get to be in the same building and sing ‘Pink Pony Club,’ you know? So we’ll see. Hopefully that will happen.”

Saturday’s show will mark Roan’s SNL debut. The singer appeared to tease her next era on Tuesday in an Instagram post in which she shared some selfies and hinted at the follow-up to breakthrough The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess album.

“Album kinda popped off imo but it is time to welcome a hot new bombshell into the villa,” she captioned the pics, in a reference to the Love Island catchphrase welcoming new contestants that led fans to speculate that she’s working on her sophomore LP. Producer Dan Nigro also revealed that the album is in the works earlier this month when he said the pair had completed five songs already, including a “fun, up-tempo country song,” a “couple of ballads” and a “mid-tempo rock song.”

31 Oct 2024

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke Walks Off Stage At Solo Show After Confronting Heckler Over Israel-Hamas War: ‘See You Later Then’

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke left the stage at his solo show in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday night (Oct. 30) after a heckler yelled at him about the war between Israel and Hamas. According to fan footage of the incident at the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl, after the man yelled comments about the “Israeli genocide of Gaza” and made references to the deaths of children during the now year-long war between Israel and militant group Hamas, Yorke stopped the show and challenged the person to say it to his face on stage.

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“Come up here and say that. Right here, come on,” said a peeved sounding Yorke as he stood on stage holding his acoustic guitar while some fans booed the heckler, with one telling the person to “shut the f–k up.”

“Hop up on the f–king stage and say what you wanna say,” Yorke continued. “Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. You want to p–s on everybody’s night?”

After the person then reportedly responded with another comment about the war in Gaza, Yorke seemingly had had enough and said, “OK, you do it, see you later then” and walked off stage. According to The Guardian, the singer returned a few minutes later to play the final song of his set, Radiohead’s “Karma Police.”

Yorke is on his Everything tour, on which he’s playing solo material as well as songs from Radiohead and spin-off group The Smile.

Back in 2017, Yorke defended Radiohead’s decision to perform in Tel Aviv, Israel against critics who have called for a boycott of performances in the country over the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians; Yorke has also criticized the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, saying that BDS prevents necessary dialogue and cultural interactions that could create a positive impact.

In June, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood posted a lengthy note in response to renewed criticism of his long-running collaboration with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa after the pair played a show in Israel in May in the midst of the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of more than 1,200 Israeli women, children and civilians during a raid by Hamas fighters who also took more than 250 hostages.

In the ensuring war, Israeli forces have reportedly killed more than 42,000 Palestinians according to Palestinian authorities, while also laying waste to much of the infrastructure in Gaza in a war that has now widened to include airstrikes in Iran and Lebanon.