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30 Oct 2024

Tekashi 6ix9ine Arrested on Allegations of Violating Plea Deal Parole Rules | Billboard News

Tekashi 6ix9ine has been arrested on allegations that he violated the terms of a parole agreement. Keep watching for the full story.

Tetris Kelly:
Tekashi 6ix9ine has been arrested. But why? He’s being charged with violating plea deal parole rules. And we have the details. You may remember that the “Gooba” rapper famously struck a plea deal with prosecutors and flipped on his former gang mates. He was arrested and placed in custody on Oct. 29 over allegations that he violated the terms of that agreement. His supervised release is set to expire in April of 2025. According to court records, Tekashi pleaded not guilty. In a statement to Billboard, Tekashi’s attorney said his client had been “charged with three technical violations regarding his supervised release” and that he was “confident that each specification will be dismissed.”

Billboard will keep you updated on the story.

30 Oct 2024

TikTok Testing Album Pre-Saves: Report

TikTok is reportedly testing a feature that allows fans to pre-save upcoming albums so they will be automatically added to users’ music libraries on Spotify or Apple Music once they’re released.

The news of the test was first reported by Music Ally. A rep for the platform declined to comment.

Pushing for pre-saves has been a key component of marketing music on TikTok for years. Artists urge their fans not to just watch and comment on their latest videos, but to take the extra step of clicking a link, logging into their streaming service of choice and pre-saving a track so it will be added to their personal libraries when it comes out. The pre-save links used by artists are typically created by third-party companies like Linkfire and Feature.FM.

Completing a pre-save is not a passive activity; since it takes extra work from fans, it has often been viewed in the music industry as a crucial sign of their commitment — and an important predictor of future streams. If an artist teases a song on TikTok and it doesn’t get many pre-saves, they may not even bother to officially release it.

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“The industry has been obsessed with [pre-saves] because of all the recent examples of success people are having” when they run these campaigns, Connor Lawrence, co-founder of indify, said in 2022. “It’s the ability [of pre-saves] to capture and convert attention into fandom — and dollars via streaming revenue — that’s caused the obsession” with them.

Artists like Lauren Spencer-Smith and David Kushner racked up eye-popping pre-save totals that were noticed around the industry in 2021 and 2022. Kushner, for example, earned 146,000 pre-saves before the release of “Miserable Man” and more than 137,000 before the release of “Mr. Forgettable,” according to Rolling Stone.

Spotify added its own pre-save feature in 2023. During its 2023 Stream On event, the company said that over 80% of pre-savers stream a song within its debut week.

It makes sense that TikTok would eventually try to provide artists with a similar pre-save capability. It also fits with TikTok’s recent emphasis on its “Add to Music App,” which enables users to save a track they discover on the platform to their preferred streaming service with relative ease.

In October, Instagram rolled out its own version of the “Add to Music App.”

30 Oct 2024

Shaboozey, Morgan Wallen, Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga: Who Will Win the Crowded Race for No. 1 on Next Week’s Hot 100?

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Nov. 9, we look at Shaboozey’s chances to reclaim the top spot for a historic 16th week, and the many competitors trying to get in his way.

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Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (American Dogwood/EMPIRE/Magnolia Music): Every conversation about the Hot 100 for the past three (nearly four) months has had to lead off with Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the surprise breakout country hit that has now gone on a near-historic run of chart dominance. After 15 nonconsecutive frames atop the chart, the song ceded pole position last week to Morgan Wallen’s “Love Somebody” — good timing for Wallen, since his “Last Night” is the 16-week No. 1 that “A Bar Song” is now one week away from tying as the longest-running Hot 100-topper of the 2020s.

“A Bar Song” remains an extremely strong performer, sliding to No. 3 on both Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales (due to the debuts of “Love Somebody” and ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’ “APT.” ahead of it on both charts) but remaining No. 1 on Radio Songs for a 13th week. It looks headed for a 14th week atop that chart, and even with its sales and streams continuing to slip this late into its lifespan, they should be strong enough to keep it as the song to beat on the Hot 100 – though this week, a handful of other songs will be in the running to do so.

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Morgan Wallen, “Love Somebody” (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic): Wallen blocked Shaboozey from tying his 2020s Hot 100 record this week, but next week, he may need some help. “Love Somebody” is expected to recede across the board next week, with streams and sales dipping as is typical of a big new song in its second week – and radio likely also falling back some, as the song received heavily concentrated first-day plays as promotion for the new single by country’s biggest current artist. But its streaming and sales numbers remain sturdy, so as the song likely continues to pick up in airplay from here (with Wallen currently one of the most reliable radio artists in all of popular music), it certainly could contend for the top spot again soon, and possibly for many weeks after.

Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga, “Die With a Smile” (Streamline/Interscope/Atlantic/ICLG): Since debuting at No. 3 on the Hot 100 back in August, “Die With a Smile” has been milling rather innocuously around the middle of the top 10. But if you’d counted it out as a No. 1 contender, you may have done so prematurely – it appears that this is the week the two pop superstars are making their move to potentially claim the top spot. Two new versions of the song have been released, an instrumental and a “Live From Las Vegas” version, the latter also unveiled with an accompanying live video. All three versions have also been discounted to 69 cents on iTunes – and as of posting, they occupied the top three spots on iTunes’ real-time chart.

It’s interesting timing, because Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga both have other songs that are chart contenders to some degree this week. Mars’ “APT.” teamup with ROSÉ debuted at No. 8 on the Hot 100 this week, and continues to do very well on both streaming and iTunes, while Gaga has a brand new single with “Disease” — which she also dropped a new video for on Tuesday night (Oct. 29), along with the live “Smile.” Neither song is a likely contender for the top spot however, with Gaga’s latest currently something of a longshot for the top 10 due to modest streaming returns: “Disease” has fallen out of the top 50 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart, and out of the top 100 on Apple Music’s real-time listing.

Tyler, the Creator, “St. Chroma” & “Noid” (Columbia): Always the iconoclast, star rapper Tyler, the Creator decided to release his latest album Chromakopia at 6:00 on a Monday morning (Oct. 28). Yet even with just over half of a tracking week to work with, the album is the likely frontrunner for the top spot on next week’s Billboard 200, with excitement over the album resulting in the tracklist dominating the entire top 10 on both Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA and the Apple Music real-time listing on its debut day — despite being released six hours into the day.

At least two of those songs could have a major Hot 100 impact next week, as well. “St. Chroma,” the album’s Daniel Caesar-featuring lead track – which previously teased by Tyler with a short two weeks ago – has been in the early lead on streaming services, with some mighty first-day numbers. A few spots behind it has been “Noid,” which despite not being the current best-performing song from the album, does have the advantage of having been released the week before (along with its own music video), thus making it the lone song on the album with a full tracking week’s worth of consumption — although its overall daily numbers were much lower before the album’s release.

Had the full album been released on a Friday, we may very well have been talking about one of these songs as Tyler, the Creator’s first Hot 100 No. 1. Instead, he may end up settling for his first Hot 100 top 10 hit – which is obviously of course still very impressive, especially in a week where all the other songs in the race have such a massive head start.

30 Oct 2024

Ethan Slater Somewhat Reacts to Rumors That Ariana Grande’s ‘Imperfect for You’ Is About Him: ‘I Love That Song’

Ethan Slater has largely kept his romance with Ariana Grande private, but he took a moment to carefully gush over the “Yes, And?” superstar in his recent cover story with GQ.

At one point in the interview, Slater responded to rumors that Grande’s Eternal Sunshine track, “Imperfect for You” is about him. “Messy, completely distressed/ But I’m not like that since I met you/ Imperfect for you,” she sings on the swoon-worthy track. “She’s such an amazing performer, and I think everyone knows how good she is [as] a recording artist and all that—but I’m just really blown away by the songwriting,” he shares, somewhat addressing the speculation by adding, “I love that song.”

“Obviously, it was a really super big year, and I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public,” he shared of the backlash he and Grande both received when news of their relationship broke. In July 2023, Slater reportedly filed for divorce from his longtime partner Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a son. Meanwhile, Grande had recently split from her now-ex-husband Dalton Gomez. “There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard.”

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He continued, “But, of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited. I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on [Wicked]. She’s poured herself into it. I’m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I’m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.”

The duo both star in the upcoming film adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical, Wicked, in which Grande plays Glinda the Good Witch and Slater plays Boq. “My unbiased opinion is that she’s one of the best comedians that’s been in a movie in a long time. She’s a genius,” Slater shared of Grande.

30 Oct 2024

Sakurazaka46’s ‘I want tomorrow to come’ Shoots to No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

Sakurazaka46’s “I want tomorrow to come” rises to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Oct. 30, selling 559,181 CDs in its first week.

The 10th single by the popular girl group topped physical sales while coming in at No. 12 for downloads, No. 5 for streaming, No. 68 for radio airplay, and No. 71 for video views.

Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke” slips to No. 2. While down a notch from the top spot, points for the Dandadan opener is on the rise, with streaming up by about 108% from the week before from 8,460,000 to 9,130,000 streams, and video up by 101%.

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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” continues to hold at No. 3. Points for each metric have decreased slightly as the former No. 1 hit logs its 29th week on the tally, coming in at No.15 for downloads, No. 2 for streaming, and No. 5 for video and karaoke.

M!LK’s “Everybody Good Job!” soars 47-4 to break into the top 5. The title track off the five-man group’s sixth major-label release sold 71,036 copies to hit No. 2 for sales while coming in at No. 56 for streaming.

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Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT.” also shoots to No. 5 from No. 96. The track debuted on the Japan Hot 100 at No. 96 after its release on Oct. 18. The earwormy repetition of “apateu” (apartment) made a splash on social media, and streams for the track increased by about 6 times, downloads and videos by about 2.5 times, and radio by 8 times from the week before. It’s the first time a Western song entered the top 5 of the Japan Hot 100 since Coldplay and BTS’s “My Universe” in October 2021. “APT.” is also charting at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 21 to 27, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.

30 Oct 2024

Metro Boomin Sued For Sexual Battery, Lawyer For Producer Says It’s A Potential Money Grab

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Metro Boomin is currently facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims that the producer allegedly raped and impregnated her in 2016 after meeting him on a chance meeting in Las Vegas. According to the attorney for Metro Boomin, this is nothing more than a money grab for the accuser.

TMZ first reported about the lawsuit filed against Metro Boomin and the details are as follows. According to the filing, the woman says that she met Metro in Las Vegas while on a getaway vacation following the passing of her 9-month-old son.

According to the documents, a woman named Vanessa LeMaistre claims that she hung out with Metro at his recording studio in Los Angeles and said she allegedly saw the producer downing codeine. From what we understand of the report, LeMaistre says she was at the studio in September 2016 and took Xanax and a shot of alcohol but later said she lost consciousness.

LeMaistre added in her claim that when she awoke, she was in a bed with Metro allegedly raping her along with performing other sexual acts. LeMaistre says she passed out once more and was inside a Beverly Hills hotel room but didn’t remember how she managed to get inside the establishment. LeMaistre says she discovered that she was pregnant after the assault and said that Metro was the father but terminated the pregnancy in November 2016.

In an update to TMZ’s initial report, Metro Boomin’s attorney offered a statement on the lawsuit.

From TMZ:

According to Metro Boomin’s (real name Leland Wayne) lawyer Lawrence Hinkle II of Sanders Roberts LLP tells TMZ … “This is a pure shakedown. These are false accusations. Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”

Metro Boomin has yet to respond publicly beyond this statement.

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Photo: Getty

30 Oct 2024

Brandi Carlile Signs With CAA & Phantom Management for Global Representation

Brandi Carlile has signed with CAA and Phantom Management for worldwide representation in all areas. In addition to helping expand Carlile’s music initiatives, CAA will work to create opportunities across film, TV, publishing and more.

Phantom Management was launched this year by music veterans Catherine Carlile and Carolyn Snell. The company also represents longtime Brandi Carlile collaborators The Hanseroth Twins. Catherine, who is also Brandi’s wife, began her music career at MPL Music Publishing in London and went on to work with Paul McCartney for more than a decade. After relocating to the U.S. in 2011, Catherine served as the executive director of the Looking Out Foundation and creative director for Brandi before transitioning into senior management. Snell has led the coordination and management of global tours for renowned artists such as Reba McEntire, Janet Jackson, John Mayer and Indigo Girls.

Brandi Carlile is an 11-time Grammy award and two-time Emmy award-winning artist. She has released seven studio albums, including her most recent, the three-time Grammy-winning In These Silent Days. Carlile’s debut album, The Story, spent 25 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart; all of her subsequent albums also landed on the tally She has additionally placed 14 singles on Billboard‘s Adult Alternative Airplay chart, according to Luminate.

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Carlile is also a renowned producer, with recent Grammy Award-winning projects from Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark. She is a founding member of the all-female country group The Highwomen and has collaborated with Elton John, Soundgarden, Alicia Keys, Hozier, Noah Kahan, Jacob Collier, P!nk and Dolly Parton. She is also the creator of two annual music festivals, Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend and Brandi Carlile’s Mothership Weekend.

In the publishing arena, Carlile’s 2021 memoir, Broken Horses, reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. She is scheduled to release another book with Dey Street Books (Harper Collins) next year.

Carlile is also a founder of the Looking Out Foundation, which has raised more than $6 million for grassroots causes, and is a co-owner of the wine label XOBC.

Phantom Management was founded this year by Carlile’s wife Catherine and Snell, both of whom have long histories in the music industry.

30 Oct 2024

Snoop Dogg Dedicates Romantic ‘My Everything’ Video to His Wife Shante Broadus: Watch

Love wins. Snoop Dogg and wife Shante Broadus have been locked in for nearly three decades, as the couple tied the knot back in 1997. The rapper gave his wife her flowers for being a ride or die and integral part in helping him become a global icon and transcending the rap world over the years, by dedicating his and Danny Boy’s “My Everything” track to the “Boss Lady.”

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“My Everything” arrived on Tuesday (Oct. 29) alongside an accompanying romantic visual that finds Snoop thanking his wife for holding him down at all times, no matter the circumstances, and always being supportive of his bold endeavors.

Best known for his contributions to 2Pac’s “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” and “Picture Me Rollin’,” Danny Boy croons on the chorus while Snoop handles rapping duties gushing about his wife. “I showed you hot a gangster will show you some real love/ Pull up on you at your job drop you off at the club/ The way I’m real about you, feel about you, nobody does,” he raps over the tender production.

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Scenes throughout the lovey-dovey clip showcase Shante hanging out with friends before Snoop makes a grand entrance to dance with his wife, who celebrates her 49th birthday on Wednesday (Oct. 30). The couple shares three children together: sons Corde and Cordell, and daughter Cori. (Snoop is also dad to son Julian from a former relationship.)

It’s unclear if “My Everything” is a one-off single or will eventually live on a bigger project. Snoop and Dr. Dre have repeatedly been teasing their Doggystyle follow-up Missionary, which is arriving in December.

Watch the “My Everything” video below.

30 Oct 2024

Metro Boomin Faces Rape Lawsuit by Woman Who Says Assault Was Referenced in Song Lyrics

Superstar producer Metro Boomin is facing a civil lawsuit over allegations that he raped and impregnated a woman in 2016, then referenced the incident in one of his songs.

In a complaint filed Tuesday (Oct. 29) in Los Angeles court, attorneys for Vanessa LeMaistre say she blacked out after ingesting a Xanax and a shot of alcohol in his recording studio during the September 2016 session, then awoke to find herself being sexually assaulted by Metro (Leland Wayne).

“The next thing Ms. LeMaistre can recall is waking up on a bed in a different location with Wayne raping her and being completely unable to move or make a sound,” her lawyers write. “At no point during this encounter was Ms. LeMaistre able to consent to any sexual activity, and Wayne’s conduct without question constituted rape and sexual assault.”

In a response statement, Metro Boomin’s attorney Lawrence Hinkle II called the lawsuit “a pure shakedown” against his client: “These are false accusations. Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”

The lawsuit claims Metro exploited the death of LeMaistre’s infant son to gain her trust, and that she believed they had “bonded over the ability of music to help people in their darkest moments.” But it says that belief was “shattered” after he invited her to the studio for the September 2016 session.

“Meeting Wayne resulted in Ms. LeMaistre suffering from the second worst thing that ever happened to her — being raped by someone who pretended to be her friend for months,” her lawyers write. “Ms. LeMaistre is still working to put herself back together after experiencing such an extraordinary amount of trauma at the hands of Wayne — someone she truly believed to be her friend but turned out to be her worst nightmare.”

Weeks after the alleged assault, LeMaistre says she learned she was pregnant. She says she did not have sex with anyone else other than Metro and that the pregnancy was the result of the alleged rape. Due to the “recent loss of her son and the traumatic cause of her pregnancy,” her lawyers say she could not continue the pregnancy and had an abortion in November 2016.

Notably, the lawsuit claims the alleged attack is referenced in the 2017 song “Rap Saved Me,” released by 21 Savage, Offset and Metro on their collaborative studio album Without Warning. The lyrics in question are: “She took a Xanny, then she fainted/ I’m from the gutter, ain’t no changing/ From the gutter, rap saved me/ She drive me crazy, have my baby.”

“The lyrics were horrifying for Ms. LeMaistre to hear over and over again, as they recounted the situation that happened to her and caused further trauma,” her lawyers write.

LeMaistre is represented by lawyers from Wigdor, the same law firm that filed a high-profile civil lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs last year on behalf of his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura — a case that was then followed by a flood of other allegations and eventual federal criminal charges.

In a statement, the Wigdor attorneys referenced the alleged connection between the lyrics to “Rap Saved Me” and LeMaistre’s accusations.

“Metro Boomin has built a successful career with lyrics and social media that are not only offensive but also explicitly outline his intentions to harm women,” the firm wrote in a joint statement with LeMaistre’s co-counsel from the law firm Gerard Bengali. “These are more than mere words, and it’s time for him to be held accountable for his manipulative tactics and unacceptable behavior.”

Read the entire lawsuit against Metro here:

30 Oct 2024

Baes & Baddies: Meet Eritrean-Italian Beauty AidaLiaMaria AKA @liagoldy

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What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation! We’re back with an update to our ongoing Baes & Baddies series and this week, we’re featuring Eritrean-Italian beauty AidaLiaMaria aka @liagoldy and you’ll be glad we did.

We don’t know much about AidaLiaMaria but what we can tell you is that the active Instagram is slowly rising in the ranks as one of the most head-turning models we’ve seen on the social media platform. From what we gathered, AidaLiaMaria models for several brands and seems to be living her best jet-setting life.

We won’t front or waste much more time. Trust us, the sultry East African and Italian starlet knows how to put that ish on and should have a far larger platform. Hopefully, we’re helping to add to her follower count, and wish AidaLiaMaria all the best.

Check out the gallery for more and stay locked into Hip-Hop Wired for more Baes & Baddies updates!

Source: @liagoldy / Instagram

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Photo: Instagram/@liagoldy