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23 Aug 2024

Damon Dash Reported To Owe New York $8 Million In In Back Taxes

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Source: Monica Morgan / Getty

The auction of Damon Anthony “Dame” Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella Records now has a new twist as New York State claims he owes them millions in back taxes.

The legal battle over mogul Dame Dash’s share in Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records has another added twist, as a motion was filed in a federal court in Manhattan by New York’s Department of Taxation & Finance on Wednesday (August 21). According to reports, the motion was for the department to legally intervene in proceedings leading up to an auction of Dash’s share in the record label that will be conducted by the United States Marshalls Service in a Manhattan hotel on August 29. They claim that Dash owes $8.7 million in back taxes and penalties on income that he earned between 2005 and 2018.

“To date, the Department has been unsuccessful in its efforts to collect the unpaid New York State tax debt owed by Dash,” wrote attorneys for the state in the filing. “Intervening in this matter may be the Department’s only opportunity to collect some of the unpaid taxes Dash owes to New York.” The motion adds more complexity to the situation, as the share held by Dash (which totals 33.3% interest) is being auctioned off to fulfill a judgment in a lawsuit won by film producer Josh Webber. Webber sued Dash over a failed movie partnership and was granted $823,000.

However, the New York City’s Department of Social Services will receive the first share of proceeds from the auction as Dash owes $145, 096 in unpaid child support.

The tax department made it clear that its filing was not to supersede the social services department, but it also said that it had a lien against Dash’s Roc-A-Fella proceeds for over a decade. Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke had tried to stop the auction from proceeding but were denied in February.

The opening bid of the auction will begin at $1.2 million, and Dash will receive any monies after the judgments are fulfilled, with his lawyer Natraj Bhushan claiming they “expect a robust auction with bids entering the several millions if not higher.” What is clear is that Mr. Damon Dash is allergic to responsibility,” Webber’s attorney Chris Brown stated in an interview. “I’m more interested in learning if New York State will file tax evasion charges against him or if he will be arrested at the upcoming auction. That is what I want to find out. Just my opinion.”

23 Aug 2024

Sabrina Carpenter’s Acting Roles, From ‘Girl Meets World’ to Now

Before she was a Billboard Hot 100-topping artist, most people were introduced to Sabrina Carpenter through their television screens.

After getting her start as a child actor taking small parts in various films and TV shows — including episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Orange Is the New Black — the singer-actress landed her breakout role on Girl Meets World in 2014 playing Maya Hart, the fierce, rough-around-the-edges best friend of Rowan Blanchard’s Riley Matthews. At the same time, she was working on launching her music career with Disney Music Group’s Hollywood Records, with whom she signed at age 14 and released four albums over the course of the next five years: 2015’s Eyes Wide Open, 2016’s EVOLution, 2018’s Singular Act I and 2019’s Singular Act II.

Eventually, she moved to Island Records in 2021 and dropped her breakthrough album Emails I Can’t Send the following year. Over the next two years, she would earn her first Hot 100 entry with 2021’s “Skin,” followed by her first top 10 hit with “Espresso” in 2024 and finally, her first No. 1 on the chart with “Please Please Please” a couple months after that. “Music is the only career that is fully, 100 percent me,” Carpenter told Billboard in 2021 of her preference for singing over acting.

Even so, the multi-hyphenate has continued to star in a number of acting roles in between all that slow-but-steady success with her music career, lending her talents to numerous films, TV shows and animated projects since debuting on Girl Meets World. Keep reading to see a full list of the characters she’s played since her 2014 Hollywood breakthrough to now.

23 Aug 2024

Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Mura Masa, Sofi Tukker, Yaeji & More

This week in dance music: Chase & Status clocked their first U.K. No. 1 hit with their recently released Stormzy collab “Backbone,” The Tim Bergling Foundation announced an auction of clothes, musical equipment and other memorabilia belonging to late producer Avicii, the team behind Ibiza’s Hï and Ushuaïa pulled off a pretty out of this world PR stunt to reveal that their new club is coming next year, we chatted with Sofi Tukker about croissants upon the release of their new album, DJ Snake distanced himself from Lil Jon’s widely celebrated performance of “Turn Down For What” during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the video for Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child” hit a billion views on Spotify, Chris Lake and Vintage Culture were announced among the headliners for Costa Rica’s Ocasa Festival early next year, we did a deep dive into the business of touring travel logistics (and why DJs always want to stay in the quietest hotels) and Outkast sued electronic act ATLiens for giving themselves the same name as the hip-hop legends’ classic 1996 album.

And as always, it all comes back to the music. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

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Mura Masa, Curve 1

English producer Mura Masa is back with his fourth studio album Curve 1, which — with its club focus, no f–ks attitude and an orange-red version of Charli XCX’s season-defining chartreuse — can be considered a counterpart to Brat. Tracks about doing drugs (“I don’t do drugs, but with you I do,” Daniela Lalita says while guesting on previously released single “Drugs”), sex (with a female voice purring in French on the otherwise sharp-edged “SXC”) and good old making out (“We Are Making Out”) give the project a happily messy YA feel, although the production throughout is fully mature, frequently lush, occasionally soaring and simply just cool throughout. The project is the first release on Mura Masa’s own Pond Recordings.

“Feels very different to be releasing a record this time around, being independent affords so much more control and connection to the work,” the artist born Alexander Crossan wrote on Instagram. “I wanted to make something no frills, no cynical music industry narrative, no manipulative backstory. Just music that I think is really great and that people can gather around. Can’t wait for you to hear it. My love to everybody who worked with me on this, and most of all my love to anybody who listens and connects with it.”

Sofi Tukker, Bread

Sophie Hawley Weld and Tucker Halpern recently told us that the concept of their new album, Bread, is both simple — the title is an acronym for “be really energetic and dance” — and deep, with the title representing ideas about satiating pleasure with abandon and experiencing nourishing abundance. The visual aesthetic the pair has created around this world reflects these themes, particularly in the video for “Woof,” which features the duo and special guest Kah-Lo (who very much eats on her guest verse) riding around New York City on a double-decker while partaking in many forms of pleasure, from massages to dancing to making out cradling a puppy. Out on Ultra Records, the entire 10-track album contains this same sort of exuberance and style, making Bread a must devour.

Yaeji, “booboo”

Yaeji says she made her latest after a period of deep introspection, with the producer finding — as so many of us do — that after a lot of soul searching, it feels really good to just dance, hard. Debuted during her recent Boiler Room set in New York, “booboo” is spare, tough and funky, with the producer slowly turning up the dial on a buzzsaw bassline, adding punches of kickdrum and then turning it all off to sample her own 2017 breakout hit “raingurl” before just encouraging everyone “to shake your booty from the left to the right.” The track is out on XL Recordings.

Swedish House Mafia, “Lioness” (Francis Mercier Remix)

Francis Mercier works his considerable magic on the most recent Swedish House Mafia release, with the Haitian producer stripping the flutes, relaxing the BPM and taking the percussion down by a few levels and altogether turning “Lioness” into a steamy, dreamy, hard-emoting afrobeats affair. “This one hits extra hard for me,” Mercier writes of the remix, “as I remember buying tickets to all of their NY shows. Nothing is impossible.” Mercier has been touring heavily this summer, with dates over the next few weeks including Burning Man, New York Fashion Week and shows across Ibiza.

Mau P & Diplo feat. Gunna, “Receipts”

Mau P further further establishes himself as an absolute star of the new generation of producers with “Receipts” a hypnotic club-focused collab with Diplo and Gunna that was debuted during the two producers’ four hour b2b at Coachella this past April. “‘Receipts’ came to life as Wes and I were preparing for our b2b Coachella set which was also my debut performance at the festival,” Mau P says. “We had been talking for hours about music and our various influences, after which Wes asked me the obvious question – ‘Should we try to create a song together that we can play at Coachella?’ He had recently done a session with Gunna and gave me an acapella to mess around with. One night during Miami Music Week, I came home from a show feeling pretty hyped up, opened my laptop and landed on the first version of this track. From there, Wes and I went back and forth to nail it, and eventually premiered ‘Receipts’ at Coachella.”

Seven Lions & Subtronics feat. Skylar Grey, “I’ll Wait For You”

Seven Lions and Subtronics join forces (as “Seventronics,” naturally), with a track as huge and hard as you’d expect from the pair. But while both producers specialize in bass, they’re also both masters of layering on shimmering flourishes that give their work a deep space feel, even as it hits you over the head. Vocals from Skyler Grey give “I’ll Wait For You” added softness and power. The single is out on Seven Lions’ own Ophelia Records.

23 Aug 2024

Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Home Robbed Of Exclusive Nike Sneakers

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BKN-HEAT-MAGIC-HARDAWAY REACTS

Source: CHRIS BERNACCHI / Getty

The sneaker reselling game is not be what it used to be just a few years back (everything is bricking these days), but that didn’t stop one man from stealing some very exclusive sneakers from an NBA legend earlier this month in hopes of cashing out bigly.

According to ESPN, a man decided to go for the gusto and broke into the $4.25 million dollar Memphis home of Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and rolled out with boxes of limited edition Nike sneakers that are said to be rare “Friends and Family” pairs and even 1-of-1’s that could fetch thousands of dollars on the resale market. Luckily police were able to apprehend the suspect this past Thursday (Aug. 22) and announced that 42-year-old Ronald James had been booked and charged with theft of property.

Looking more like January 6th insurrectionist than your everyday sneaker head, James was caught on surveillance video rolling up to Penny’s home with a shopping cart and leaving with boxes stacked up higher than his own height. After police released Jame’s picture which was captured on the surveillance cameras, he was subsequently arrested and booked for the robbery.

ESPN reports:

Hardaway told Memphis TV station WREG this week that 26 pairs of “one-of-kind” Foamposite shoes had been taken from his home.

Nike’s Foamposite line, made famous by Hardaway when he starred for the Orlando Magic in the 1990s, is still popular today. Hardaway and Nike still have a lucrative partnership years after the former NBA All-Star last played in the league.

Last year, Nike released the Nike Air Max Penny 1 Lester Middle School editions to honor Hardaway’s Memphis middle school.

It’s unclear when James will have his first court appearance related to the theft, and his bond has not been set. Police did not say whether they had retrieved the merchandise.

While we don’t know if the man was able to flip the sneakers before his arrest or if they’ve been recovered, one has to wonder how he knew which sneakers to go for and how it was so easy for him to pull off the heist. Penny might have a turncoat in his inner circle. Just sayin.’

What do y’all think of this latest sneaker heist in Memphis? Was it an inside job or did the tattooed white man just know his sneakers? Let us know in the comments section below.

23 Aug 2024

CHANMINA Opens Up About ‘NG,’ A Song of Struggle & Responsibility: Interview 

“No No Girls,” the girls’ group audition project organized by CHANMINA and SKY-HI, leader of BMSG, will begin streaming on YouTube starting in October. In preparation for the launch, on Aug. 9, the audition project’s theme song, “NG,” was released as a digital single. With its dope music and grounded lyrics, it’s like a sister song to CHANMINA’s iconic song “Bijin.”

CHANMINA created quite a stir with her announcement that she had married Korean rapper ASH ISLAND and was an expectant mother, moving on to a new stage in her life. Billboard JAPAN recently had the opportunity to talk with her about what went into the creation of this new song and the audition project.

Congratulations on getting married! Is everything going well, health-wise?

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Thank you. I’m doing great. I appreciate everyone’s blessings. I’m doing just fine!

Around when the music video for “20” came out, a lot of people were suspecting that something was up, and your announcement right after that about getting married and being pregnant with your first child came as quite a surprise.

I thought about not mentioning anything about it, but I’ve never been a fan of hiding my private life, and I’ve always sung about my own life in my songs anyway.

I’m interested to hear what you feel as you experience marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. I’m sure there are insights that you can only reach through those experiences. I wouldn’t be surprised if your artistic output also changes.

I think that’ll probably happen. I can already feel it. For example, I’ve gotten back that thorniness I used to have. I lose my temper easily. I think that’s because the “womanly” part of me is taking a bit of a break, in a way. I’m not trying to be well-liked–I’m not hung up on other people’s feelings. I feel like I’m standing up and taking on the challenges I really need to as a person. That’s why this song came out the way it did. It’s been a while since I rapped.

Yes, I wanted to talk about that. So the changes in your personal life are also affecting your music?

I think so. I actually tend to rap a lot lately.

When did you start working on “NG”?

Actually, I started working on it back when I was making “Bijin.” I wrote about ten songs while I was perfecting “Bijin,” and “NG” was one of them. While I didn’t release it back then, I always liked it, so I kept it in my back pocket. It felt like a good match for this audition project, so I rewrote the lyrics, reworked the sound and the melody, and changed up the flow. Really, I finally finished the song by remaking it. It’s not like somebody asked me to make a theme song, but I thought it would be better if the project had one, and that this would be a good fit.

Now that you mention it, it does feel very close in spirit to “Bijin.” Why didn’t you use this track originally for “Bijin”?

The beat was too hard, and I felt like I couldn’t fully handle it back then. It’s very unique, but also very minimal, and it really felt kind of scary. Plus, there were a lot of other things I wanted to do at the time. For example, I wanted to put in a melodic section. Now, I’m able to take on all those challenges, so I changed up a lot of parts, and this is how it turned out. JIGG, who I worked on the song with, was surprised at how the song evolved.

You said that you’re able to take on those challenges now. Why is that? Does it have to do with the changes in your personal life?

I think so. I don’t worry about the little things anymore. I’m no longer focused on “if I do this, then people will think about me that way.” That’s why the process of making “NG” was a rather fast one. I still can’t really explain the changes that happened in me very well, but what I can say is that I’m in fact changing. It’s like…I’ve become more solid.

Maybe it’s part of getting ready for motherhood.

Maybe. Until recently, I was more a “girl,” but now I’ve become more of a “woman”—more of an adult. I don’t focus so much on the little details. I’ve got bigger things to deal with now. So maybe that’s enabled me to focus on what I really need to do. “Bijin” was a struggle to write, but “NG” wasn’t at all. I knew what I wanted to say, so the whole song-writing process went more smoothly compared to the past.

The lyrics in the first half are about your experience with having your beauty denied.

I left those lyrics as-is from when I originally wrote them. “Bijin” alone wasn’t enough to finish the fight.

One of the things that gives the song such a distinctive CHANMINA feel is that it’s opposed to prejudice based on looks, but it doesn’t deny femininity.

I think you should be able to enjoy femininity. I think that beauty is the state of achieving your aesthetic ideals. So, of course, beauty will be different from person to person. For someone striving for femininity, that will be beauty. For someone who isn’t, then there will be some other kind of beauty.

And then in the second half of the song, you’re singing about human nature and attitude.

I don’t think true beauty is skin deep, but instead is achieved when outer beauty is paired with inner beauty. One of the lyrics is “Your ‘No’s didn’t kill me.” That’s about the responsibility that comes with being a person who lived on, without dying because of beauty. It has a strong sense of doing what you can.

The pronouns in the songs are also interesting. “Bijin” ends with you using “we,” which made quite an impression, but “NG” ends with you using “I.”

That’s another expression of that sense of responsibility. It’s the responsibility shown in saying “I’ll take the lead.”

I see. While the song is sung in the first person, with the lyrics sung from the position of “I,” I feel like it will resonate with anyone who has been told “No.” It will feel like “our song.” So even though you don’t use the word “we,” it expresses that collective “we.” On a wordsmanship level, it may even surpass “Bijin.”

Thank you. I feel like my lyrical skills are improving, little by little. For example, while the content of this song is hard, I don’t use the f-word even once. That’s something I’ve been trying to focus on in general.

So, I hear that this is your first interview since you announced your marriage and pregnancy. Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers?

I never expected for people to celebrate the news so much. There are so many people who have told me that they’re so happy, that it’s like they’re the ones who are getting married and becoming a mother. I’m so grateful for all the wishes, and I feel a profound sense of responsibility.

That just shows how much people are placing their hopes on you. You have to take good care of yourself.

I am. This isn’t just my own body anymore. I didn’t just feel that because of the baby inside me, but because of everyone’s reactions. I’m happy to have sung about my own life.

Right, you’re a part of everyone’s lives, now. You’ve got to live a long, happy life.

Thank you. I’ll do my best!

—This interview by Sotaro Yamada first appeared on Billboard Japan

23 Aug 2024

8 Best Moments From Travis Scott’s ‘Days Before Rodeo’ 10th Anniversary Concert in Atlanta

None of this was promised for Travis Scott — from couch surfing in Los Angeles with rap dreams, to becoming the king of his hip-hop generation, with brand deals from Audemars Piguet to McDonald’s.

While he can look back on his 2014 fondly, there were definitely pockets of creative frustration at the time, when label executives didn’t trust La Flame’s futuristic vision — even after co-signs from the likes of Ye and Jay-Z.

Before the arrival of his debut album, Scott heated up with his second — and likely final — mixtape Days Before Rodeo. With the project celebrating its 10th anniversary earlier this week, and hitting streaming services for the first time, Trav took fans back to 2014 for one night only on Thursday (Aug. 22) inside the tight confines of Atlanta’s The Masquerade.

In collaboration with Cactus Jack and Spotify, the Days Before Rodeo concert served as a victory lap and blast from the past for La Flame, while some Gen-Z Ragers were introduced to the era. At the time, the music world didn’t understand the seismic shift that was about to take place between Scott’s mainstream explosion on the horizon, and Atlanta moving into the spotlight as America’s rap capital.

Fittingly, with Scott signed in part to T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records at the time (the deal has since expired, post-Astroworld), ATL heavily influenced the mixtape — with guest appearances by Migos, Young Thug, Peewee Longway, Rich Homie Quan and Tip (who doesn’t appear on the streaming services version).

The Houston native took The Masquerade stage around 11:30 pm ET following a brief set from Chase B where he was serenaded by the 1,000 lucky fans in attendance who formed plenty of sweaty mosh pits throughout the raucous show while rocking 10th anniversary DBR and Free Thugger merchandise in the intimate setting.

From the reckless “Mamacita” to the lucid “Drugs You Should Try It” and a Quavo appearance, Scott ran through just about the entire mixtape, before introducing tracks from the vault that didn’t make the original’s cut for the first time live.

If only the palpable energy could be bottled up forever — Trav didn’t want the show to stop there, as he continued to play the hits from his relentless discography to keep the rage going. Salute to La Flame for remembering all of his lyrics with ease too. Here are our eight favorite moments from the show.

23 Aug 2024

Pras Throws Cold Water On His Lauryn Hill Diss Record, Acknowledges Disappointment With The Fugees’ Drama

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Pras Walks Back Lauryn Hill Diss Record, But Is Still Disappointed

Source: Steve Jennings / Getty / Pras / The Fugees

After calling out his fellow Fugees member in a lackluster diss record, Pras is now walking back those subpar bars thrown at Lauryn Hill.

The Fugees are widely regarded as one of the most iconic Hip-Hop groups of all time, they have also earned the reputation of being a hot a** mess, thanks in large part to the shenanigans going on, mainly Lauryn Hill’s pretentious behavior.

Pras had time for Lauryn Hill, dropping a diss record called “Bar Mitzfa” following the not-so-surprising news that The Fugees were canceling tour dates.

On the song, he chimed in on the frustration rapping, “Don’t blame me, blame her, she made the mess / Not another fucking penny is what I told ‘Clef.”

Now, in a new interview with Vulture, he is throwing cold water on the song, claiming it’s “not a diss track, but more of a family dispute.

“You’re family, you have internal disagreements, but it’s not going to be on a level where I’m dissing her — that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “Artistically speaking, sometimes we say things because that’s how we express ourselves. This track is me speaking my truth. When I was writing the record, those lines just came out.”

He also acknowledged the fan’s frustration with Lauryn Hill, saying, “They are paying their hard-earned money to see you.”

In the same breath, he claims he is stunned to see Hill receiving so much backlash for her behavior.

“I’ve never seen this kind of fan reaction toward Lauryn Hill,” Pras said. “There is a rejection — ‘We help to pay your bill. Just like we should be happy you came, you should be happy we coming.’ This dynamic is a two-way street. It’s tough love. But this is not an indictment of her and her character. All people are complaining about is lateness.”

Pras Confirms Lauryn Hill’s Lateness Is An Issue

Like many, Pras also confirmed they are victims of Hill’s tardiness penchant.

“There’s obviously reservation,” he said. “We don’t even ask her if she’s gonna be on time anymore; we say, ‘How late is she going to be?’ It gets to a point that you say, is it even really all worth it?”

Ahead of Pras releasing the song, The Fugees announced tour date cancellations in the United States. To further kill whatever goodwill she had fans, Ms. Hill said the negative media coverage following previous show cancelations and her always showing up late were the reasons behind poor ticket sales. 

Pras, who has legal issues to worry about, says he intends to be a part of the shows that will take place during the European leg of the tour.

We shall see.

23 Aug 2024

After Ben Affleck Divorce, Jennifer Lopez Requests Name Change

Jenny From the Block wants to go back to one. In a copy of her divorce filing from Ben Affleck filed on Tuesday (August 20) obtained by Billboard, Jennifer Lopez requested that her former name be restored. So, after two years as Jennifer Lynn Affleck, JLo asked the court to revert her name back to Jennifer Lynn Lopez.

Additionally, the This Is Me… Now singer asked the state of California to deny her and Affleck the chance to collect spousal support. While neither Lopez nor Affleck have made public statements on their split — which came precisely two years after their lavish wedding in Georgia — NBC News cited an unnamed source close to Lopez saying that the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement.

The dissolution of Lopez’s fourth marriage came after she and Affleck reunited and got engaged in 2022. Their unexpected get-back took place more than 20 years after they first got engaged following their meeting on the set of the widely panned film Gigli; the couple split two years later without marrying. Lopez was married to Ojani Noa from 1997-1998 and then to dancer Cris Judd from 2001-2003. She married singer Marc Anthony in 2004 and they were together for a decade, during which she gave birth to twins Emme and Max.

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In addition, Lopez was engaged to Yankees player Alex Rodriguez for three years (2019-2021) before she rekindled her romance with Affleck; the couple was commonly referred to by their celeb portmanteau: “Bennifer.” The story of their rebooted romance was chronicled in a pair of projects this year, one telling the story of her most recent album, the cameo-packed fictional retelling of their romance, This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, as well as the accompanying documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

In addition to taking fans behind the scenes of the making of the This Is Me… Now album — which featured several homages to her second Affleck love affair and served as a sequel to 2002’s Affleck-dedicated This Is Me… Then — the doc featured scenes of a taciturn-looking Affleck seemingly cringing at the sharing of his personal love notes to her.

Interest in the latter doc — which, like the fictional extended music video short film, was widely panned upon initial release — skyrocketed in the 24 hours after the divorce news broke. According to Luminate, U.S. viewership of the Prime Video movie jumped from 10.7k minutes watched on Tuesday’s filing date to 354.1k minutes watched on Wednesday (Aug. 21), marking a 3,000% increase in just one day.

23 Aug 2024

Queer Jams of the Week: New Music From Doechii, Yaeji, Blondshell & More

When you’re in between streams of Sabrina Carpenter’s new album (or done watching that clip of her and Jenna Ortega sharing a kiss), why not listen to some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.

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See latest videos, charts and news

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From Doechii’s banging new single to Yaeji’s bouncing new track, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:

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Doechii, “Boom Bap”



If you think you know what to expect from Doechii’s new single, let us be the ones to break it to you — you’re wrong. From the moment “Boom Bap” begins, Doechii makes it clear that she’s done with being put in boxes, snarling at her listener that “they said they want me to rap.” What follows is just over two minutes of the Florida rapper flexing her credentials — constant beat switches and style shifts can’t interrupt Doechii’s A+ flow as she proves herself over and over as the one to watch in the hip-hop genre.

Yaeji, “Booboo”



Yaeji is back, folks. With “Booboo” the transformational dance star is ready to fill dance floors and playlists alike. Over a simple-yet-relentless dance beat, Yaeji switches effortlessly between Korean and English to offer the same simple instructions to her listeners — dance. As the song picks up so does the prodcution, exploding into a thundering dance banger that proves to be utterly irresistible for anyone who hears it. If you’re looking to bounce this weekend, look no further.

Blondshell, “What’s Fair”



Sabrina Teitelbaum is here to give you what you hope to hear on a Blondshell record — a classic alt-rock sound with some tough lyrics. “What’s Fair” fulfills the Blondshell promise and even evolves it to a new level of excellence, as Teitelbaum delivers an instantly-lovable pop song that will have you doubling back to its lyrics by the end of the first listen. Written about a fraught mother-daughter relationship, “What’s Fair” makes ample use of the singer’s internal angst to help you expel some of yours.

Katie Gavin, “Casual Drug Use”



We’ve all got our coping mechanisms, and Katie Gavin is ready to talk about it. “Casual Drug Use,” off the MUNA singer’s much-anticipated solo debut, charts the fallout from a previous relationship as Gavin spirals down into the song’s titular activity. She’s quick to make no judgement, instead showing empathy for her past self and her self-soothing mechanisms — which is made even sweeter by the single’s hazy, feel-good sound.

Zolita, “Hypocrite”



Speaking of coping mechanisms, rising pop singer Zolita has got her own — and if she found out her ex was doing the same thing, she’d be pissed. On “Hypocrite,” Zolita nails her particular brand of pop-rock flavor yet again, this time to soundtrack a story of sleeping around, being messy and refusing to feel bad about it. Sure, she might be a “Hypocrite,” but if this is how being hypocritical sounds, then sign us up.

Morgan Saint, “Blazing”



Morgan Saint would just like to know why a breakup has to be dramatic. In her new track “Blazing,” the rising singer tackles the charged dynamics of a relationship headed for disaster, wondering aloud why everything has to end in a blaze of glory. It might sound like a lot, but Saint does a marvelous job blending the implosive subject matter with a blissful, lo-fi pop sound, making “Blazing” the kind of balanced listening experience that will key you up right before it mellows you out.

Check out all of our picks below on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist:

23 Aug 2024

Publishers Quarterly: Universal Gets Taylor-Made Boost in Close Competition With Sony

Universal Music Publishing Group earned the top spot on the Hot 100 Songs publishers ranking for 2024’s second quarter with 27.97% of the market, in large part thanks to Taylor Swift and the 19 songs she landed on the chart. It didn’t hurt that her writing partner Jack Antonoff is also on UMPG’s roster. (He moved there from Sony Music Publishing in August 2023.) Swift’s work accounted for a little over one-third of the 56 songs the publisher had on the Hot 100 during the quarter, up significantly from its 43-song count in the first quarter of the year.

Sony Music Publishing, which typically places first on the Hot 100 publishers ranking, finished a close second with a 27.13% market share and 57 tracks on the chart, including the No. 1 song for the second quarter, Tommy Richman‘s “Million Dollar Baby.” Warner Chappell Music finished third with a 19.87% market share. Its top second-quarter tune was “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey, one of 47 that it landed on the chart.

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Sony nevertheless remained at the peak of the Top Radio Airplay ranking for the 13th consecutive quarter, with a 27.64% market share and 66 songs. Its No. 1 track was “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, a song in which Warner Chappell and UMPG also have stakes. Sony was also buoyed by the quarter’s biggest Radio Airplay hitmaker — Ashley Gorley, co-writer of “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen — plus seven other songs on the chart.

Warner Chappell maintained its second-place ranking among Top Radio Airplay publishers for the third consecutive quarter with a 23.25% market share and 63 songs on the chart. UMPG came in third with 15.82% of the market and 43 songs.

Kobalt held its position as the fourth-largest  publisher on the Hot 100 and Top Radio Airplay charts with market shares of 10.74% and 9.44%, respectively, in part due to stakes in the No. 1 songs on both charts.

Despite a tumultuous first half of the year, Hipgnosis turned in a strong performance, finishing fifth on both rankings, with a 4.36% share on Top Radio Airplay and 2.73% on the Hot 100, also thanks to its piece of “Lose Control.” Last quarter, Hipgnosis — whose founder and CEO, Merck Mercuriadis, stepped down in July after private equity firm Blackstone acquired its catalog — was No. 7 on Top Radio Airplay and No. 9 on the Hot 100.

BMG ranked No. 6 on both Top Radio  Airplay (3.36%) and the Hot 100 (1.47%), down  from the No. 5 ranking it had on both charts in  the first quarter.

Three independent publishers fill the entries at Nos. 7, 8 and 9 on the Hot 100 chart. Reservoir Music ranked seventh (1.34%) thanks to its share of “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, Position Music (1.194%) was eighth due to its stake in “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone, and Sentric Music Publishing was ninth (1.192%) with help from “End of Beginning” by Djo. The latter two publishers make their first appearances on the rankings.

Last Quarter: Jack Harlow Helped Sony Sweep (Again)