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01 Aug 2024

Halsey Was ‘Really Nervous’ About Clearing Britney Spears ‘Lucky’ Sample: ‘How Has This Not Been Done Before?’

Halsey couldn’t believe her luck when the process of sampling Britney Spears‘ “Lucky” turned out to be an easy one, to the point where the “Closer” singer couldn’t help but worry that another shoe was about to drop.

While discussing their new single — which arrived last week, featuring a heavy interpolation of the Princess of Pop‘s 2000 hit — in a Thursday morning (Aug. 1) interview with the U.K.’s Capital Breakfast, Halsey recalled feeling “really nervous” about borrowing such an iconic tune from Spears’ catalog, even though the icon had given her blessing from the start, as previously revealed. “I remember thinking when we were doing it, ‘How has this not been done before? Has this been done before?’” she says in a clip from the interview. “Is there a reason this hasn’t been done before?

“Am I about to bark up a tree of disappointment where I fall in love with this song and there’s a reason it hasn’t been sampled in a really big way yet?” the About-Face Beauty founder continued. “So I was really nervous, and ultimately, when I got the blessing from Britney and Max Martin — who was involved in the original version of the song — having them onboard, I was like, every single day of the process I was waiting for someone to be like, ‘Just kidding, you don’t get to do it anymore.’”

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While the release of Halsey’s “Lucky” went off without a hitch, its Gia Coppola-directed music video was a slightly different story. After the video went live, a statement went up on Spears’ X profile claiming she felt “harassed, violated and bullied” by the visual’s portrayal of her as “a superficial pop star with no heart or concern at all.” The message also noted that Spears was planning to pursue legal action against the “Without Me” artist.

That same day, the “Toxic” singer deleted the post and tweeted, “Fake news !!! That was not me on my phone !!! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it !!!,” to which Halsey replied, “and I love Britney!!!! I always have and always will … you were the first person who ever made me realize what it means to feel inspired. And you continue to inspire me everyday.”

Halsey didn’t address the incident in the Capital Breakfast clip, but she does double down on her love for Spears. “It was so full-circle,” Halsey gushed. “There’s a 6-year-old girl inside my soul who used to dress up and do performances for my grandparents in the living room to Britney Spears songs. Obviously, the song is such a beautiful memory and it’s such an honor to reimagine it in this way, especially because it’s an already perfect record.”

Watch the clip below, and you can listen to Capital Breakfast With Jordan North, Chris and Sian weekdays from 6-10 a.m. across the U.K. and on Global Player.

01 Aug 2024

Clairo Rules TikTok Billboard Top 50 Chart With ‘Juna’

Clairo’s “Juna” leaps to No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart in its second week on the survey, becoming Clairo’s first ruler via the Aug. 3-dated tally.

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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity July 22-28. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.

“Juna” was released July 12 alongside the premiere of Clairo’s third album Charm, earning significant gains since then thanks to its TikTok virality.

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The dominant trends using the song feature responses to the prompts “you make me wanna” or “you know me,” both building off portions of the tune’s lyrics.

“Juna” scores a 70% jump in official U.S. streams in the week ending July 25 to 3.4 million listens, according to Luminate. As a result, it debuts at No. 27 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs survey dated Aug. 3.

The song reigns on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 over Blood Orange’s “Champagne Coast,” which falls to No. 2 after ruling for a week. Another former leader, 10-week No. 1 Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” drops 2-3, the song’s first time below No. 2 since its debut in May.

One other song joins “Juna” in the top five for the first time: Charli XCX’s “Apple,” which vaults 10-4 in its third week on the chart. Featured on the singer’s album Brat, it has leapt up multiple charts in recent weeks via a TikTok dance trend, one that concurrently helps it to a new peak of No. 4 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (5.9 million streams, up 40%).

A more recent viral upload using “Apple” and its dance came from Kerry Washington, whose video featuring the caption “If Kamala is BRAT, I’m BRAT,” referencing U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ hopeful presidential candidacy and its adoption of the Brat motif. To date, the clip boasts 4 million views.

Further down the TikTok Billboard Top 50, the top debut of the week comes from Croquet Club, whose “Summer” starts at No. 23. “Summer” was released in 2016 and has enjoyed a boost in profile with usages in recent sports content on TikTok, including footage from the 2024 Summer Olympics.

See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.

01 Aug 2024

Ask Billboard: A Who’s Who of Hot 100 Hits With ‘Who’ in Their Titles, From Jimin to Madonna, Baha Men & More

Submit questions about Billboard charts, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the United States. Or, message @gthot20.

Let’s open the latest mailbag.

Hi Gary,

With Jimin debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 3) with “Who,” I immediately thought of two “who”-titled hits that have peaked at that position: “Who Are You” by none other than The Who and “Who Is It” by Michael Jackson.

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I didn’t know at the time of its release that The Who’s mesmerizing hit didn’t make the Hot 100’s top 10, but the recording always caught my attention, both for its musicality and the cursing that was allowed. For Jackson, his Dangerous album, from which “Who Is It” was released as a single, followed Bad and Thriller. The sets produced four, six and seven top 10s, respectively, with each generating seven top 40 hits.

I figured I’d ask Billboard – who else? – for a list of other charted songs starting with “who.”

(Should we count anything by Owl City?)

Pablo Nelson, that’s who
Oakland, Calif.

Hi Pablo,

This “Ask Billboard” answers the question of who’s had all the biggest Hot 100 hits whose titles start with “who,” with Jimin’s “Who” joining 50 others that have reached the top 40. Conversely, it does the opposite of what any good mailbag should do, as it’ll leave all of the titles unanswered. There’s simply no field in Billboard’s computerized chart archives to search for who let the dogs out, who that girl is, who it can be now, who is in the strawberry patch with Sally or who your daddy is. (There are other ways to find out that last one, if needed.)

Below is a look at all the top 40-peaking Hot 100 entries whose titles begin with “who,” making for a true who’s who of “who” hits, including one by, as noted, The Who (although not any by The Guess Who).

Upon its debut, Jimin’s “Who” is in the company of numerous memorable similarly titled hits.

Top 40-Peaking Hot 100 Hits Whose Titles Begin With ‘Who’

No. 1, 1987, “Who’s That Girl,” Madonna
The title cut to the Madonna-starring film became the sixth of her 12 career Hot 100 No. 1s.

No. 1, 1982, “Who Can It Be Now?,” Men at Work
The only other Hot 100 leader whose title starts with “who” introduced Men at Work, which landed its second No. 1 with follow-up and fellow ‘80s classic “Down Under.” “It doesn’t really happen, to hardly anybody,” Colin Hay, who fronted the band, told Billboard in 2023 of its breakthrough. “It was massive. Having said that, we were always very ambitious.”

No. 3, 1986, “Who’s Johnny,” El DeBarge
No. 3, 1975, “Who Loves You,” The 4 Seasons

No. 4, 1981, “Who’s Crying Now,” Journey
The song ranks as Journey’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 hit, outpaced only by “Open Arms,” which peaked at No. 2 for six weeks in 1982.

No. 5, 1999, “Who Dat,” JT Money feat. Sole
No. 5, 1968, “Who’s Making Love,” Johnnie Taylor
No. 6, 1985, “Who’s Holding Donna Now,” Debarge
No. 7, 1987, “Who Will You Run To,” Heart

No. 7, 1985, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who,” Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul added her 16th Hot 100 top 10 with the track. She earned one more, and her second No. 1 – after “Respect,” in 1967 – with “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” with George Michael, in 1987.

No. 7, 1961, “Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp),” Barry Mann
No. 8, 1995, “Who Can I Run To,” Xscape

No. 9, 2024, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” Taylor Swift
Who has the most Hot 100 top 10s in a single week, and from a single album? Swift swept the region thanks to her 2022 LP Midnights and repeated the feat this May via The Tortured Poets Department.

No. 9, 2007, “Who Knew,” P!nk
No. 11, 1996, “Who Will Save Your Soul,” Jewel


https://youtube.com/watch?v=sidIL8V83Cc&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

No. 14, 2024, “Who,” Jimin
The song starts with 14.7 million official U.S. streams and 70,000 sold in its first week. Its proper promotion to pop radio is set to begin the week of Aug. 12.

No. 14, 1993, “Who Is It,” Michael Jackson
No. 14, 1978, “Who Are You,” The Who
No. 15, 1989, “Who Do You Give Your Love To?,” Michael Morales
No. 15, 1974, “Who Do You Think You Are,” Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
No. 16, 1987, “Who Found Who,” Jellybean feat. Elisa Fiorillo

No. 16, 1984, “Who Wears These Shoes?,” Elton John
John’s two earlier 1984 hits – “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” and “Sad Songs (Say So Much),” which rose to Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, on the Hot 100 – are likely better known, but this track gave him a third top 20 entry that year, the first in which he logged such a triple since 1976.

No. 17, 2021, “Who Want Smoke??,” Nardo Wick feat. G Herbo, Lil Durk & 21 Savage
No. 17, 2009, “Who Says,” John Mayer
No. 17, 1996, “Who Do U Love,” Deborah Cox
No. 18, 1976, “Who’d She Coo?,” Ohio Players
No. 19, 1968, “Who Will Answer?,” Ed Ames

No. 21, 2011, “Who Says,” Selena Gomez & The Scene
With her ninth charted song, Gomez scored her highest Hot 100 peak to that point. She has since collected nine top 10s, including the 2019 No. 1 “Lose You To Love Me.”

No. 21, 1984, “Who’s That Girl,” Eurythmics
No. 21, 1966, “Who Am I,” Petula Clark
No. 22, 2002, “Who’s Your Daddy?,” Toby Keith
No. 22, 1977, “Whodunit,” Tavares

No. 23, 2006, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” Bon Jovi
The single, boosted by Jennifer Nettles’ guest turn, also brought Bon Jovi to No. 1 for two weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart.

No. 25, 1964, “Who Do You Love,” The Sapphires
No. 27, 1973, “Who’s in the Strawberry Patch With Sally,” Tony Orlando & Dawn
No. 28, 2001, “Who I Am,” Jessica Andrews
No. 29, 2011, “Who Dat Girl,” Flo Rida feat. Akon
No. 29, 1980, “Who’ll Be the Fool Tonight,” Larsen-Feiten Band
No. 30, 2003, “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” Keith Urban
No. 31, 1996, “Who You Are,” Pearl Jam
No. 33, 1968, “Who Is Gonna Love Me?,” Dionne Warwick

No. 33, 1964, “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me),” Tony Bennett
Bennett charted six top 40 Hot 100 hits from the survey’s start in 1958 through 1965. In 2011, he returned with the No. 87-peaking “Body and Soul,” with Amy Winehouse.

No. 34, 1965, “Who’ll Be the Next in Line,” The Kinks
No. 35, 1992, “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,” U2
No. 37, 2005, “Who You’d Be Today,” Kenny Chesney
No. 39, 1981, “Who’s Making Love,” Blues Brothers

No. 40, 2000, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” Baha Men
Enduring more impressively than its peak would suggest, the song has drawn 288 million on-demand U.S. streams to date, according to (who, who, who, who, who?) data tracker Luminate.

No. 40, 1998, “Who Am I,” Beenie Man
No. 40, 1981, “Who Do You Think You’re Foolin’,” Donna Summer
No. 40, 1975, “Who’s Sorry Now,” Marie Osmond
No. 40, 1975, “Who’s Your Baby?,” The Archies

01 Aug 2024

Charli XCX & Troye Sivan Surging Into Sweat Tour With Sold-Out Solo Endeavors

This fall, Charli XCX & Troye Sivan Present: Sweat will bring the British and Australian pop stars to arenas across the U.S. and Canada. It’s the first time that either of them will headline North American arenas, but following their respective recent releases and subsequent solo shows – let alone the growing force behind the fall shows’ sales – they need not sweat it.

The tour, which kicks off Sept. 14 in Detroit and went on sale in April, has already sold out more than 90% of its tickets, according to Brian Greenbaum, Sivan’s agent at CAA.

Greenbaum says the tour dates in Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco sold out immediately, while high demand pushed a second show in Los Angeles. He notes that tickets across the tour were 67% sold after the first weekend of availability, and 70% by the end of May.

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The Sweat announcement and on-sale were planted after Sivan’s latest album cycle (for the October 2023 release of Something to Give Each Other) had mainly run its course, but before Charli’s Brat rollout kicked into high gear (June 7 release date). That off-cycle and on-cycle rollout was by design, giving ample time to sell arena tickets by artists who were not historically arena acts.

But even with strong opening sales, the team behind Sweat knew they’d get “a second bite at the apple,” said Greenbaum. Since the on-sale, Sivan made his arena debut abroad, and Charli executed an entire album campaign. Rather than the typical drop-off, momentum has carried Sweat through the (Brat) summer, with Greenbaum noting that North American sales rose to 80% by mid-June and beyond 90% by the end of July.

Sivan’s third studio LP, Something to Give Each Other, earned him his first two Grammy nominations and became his first album to land multiple songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

That success set up the European leg of the Something to Give Each Other Tour, leveling him up to arenas in Europe on his own before coming Stateside with Charli. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, he played 15 shows across the continent in May and June, grossing $5.7 million from 108,000 tickets sold, averaging $379,000 and 7,227 tickets per show.

Those figures mark a 225% increase over Sivan’s last European jaunt. In Amsterdam, he went from selling 6,000 tickets at AFAS Live on The Bloom Tour in 2019, to 13,500 at the Ziggo Dome in June. In Berlin, he leapt from 3,333 tickets at Tempodrom to 8,884 tickets at Velodrom. In London, his audience ballooned from 5,133 tickets at Eventim Apollo to 11,254 at OVO Arena Wembley.

In the eight European markets where Sivan returned, attendance grew by no less than double, and earnings multiplied by at least three. Assuming similar growth in the U.S., where he played more shows and commanded bigger grosses on The Bloom Tour, he is well set up for arenas in North America, especially teamed up with a similarly buzzy pop star.

In June, Charli XCX played a string of club and festival dates in North and South America. In contrast to Sivan’s international arena tour, she chose to tease their fall tour with underplays that lived in the more intimate, visceral world of Brat. Her handful of headline shows sold out, ranging from 850 tickets in Sao Paulo to 5,000 in Los Angeles.

The numbers on Charli’s live shows were intentionally smaller than Sivan’s, but the energy and word-of-mouth around them matched the intensity of the album. Not only did it debut to career-peak commercial returns (No. 3 on the Billboard 200) and universal acclaim, it has penetrated the cultural consciousness. Amid a string of music videos, remixes and viral dance challenges, Brat has infiltrated the 2024 U.S. election cycle via a swirl of memes and momentum behind Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris (“kamala IS brat,” Charli virally tweeted last month).

It’s perfect timing, then, for Sivan and Charli to join forces on Sweat. In her own words, in Billboard‘s July cover story, it finally made sense due to the dance-leaning nature of both of their albums – the first No. 1 for each of them on Top Dance/Electronic Albums. They’ve built toward arena status over their decade-plus careers, each building cult-pop success from one album to another.

Beginning her career with a smattering of hits with Iggy Azalea and Icona Pop and songwriting credits alongside Selena Gomez and Shawn Mendes, Charli continued to accrue acclaim for her solo projects, growing her base from 965 tickets per show on 2014’s Girl Power North America Tour, to 1,439 on 2019’s Charli Live Tour, and then to almost 4,000 tickets on 2022’s Crash the Live Tour. Sivan’s recent European leg grew his base two-to-one, while The Bloom Tour expanded his reach worldwide, with more than 60 shows on five continents.  

With more than a month left before Sweat begins, sales are expected to creep closer toward a continental sell-out. Just this week, Brat track “360” jumped from No. 78 to No. 55 on the Hot 100, while “Apple” debuted, becoming the album’s third track to chart. A new remix looms, hinting at more gas in the tank in the remaining weeks before opening night.

Both Sivan and Charli will tour on their own again after Sweat wraps, with each artist playing hometown shows in Oceania and the U.K., respectively. By the end of the year, their combined ticket sales could approach 500,000 in 2024.

01 Aug 2024

Maya Rudolph To Return As Kamala Harris On ‘Saturday Night Live’

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With the hype behind Kamala Harris’ presidential run continuing to build momentum (and garnering all kinds of hate), fans have been demanding that comedian Maya Rudolph reprise her role as the current vice president of the United States on SNL. Apparently, she will oblige.

According to Deadline, Maya Rudolph plans on returning to Saturday Night Live to give the Harris campaign a comedic boost until election season is over. With the stakes being as high as they are in this current election cycle—thanks to an orange wannabe dictator who plans on making Project 2025 his blueprint for a new America—Rudolph seems intent on using her comedic powers to help propel Kamala Harris into the White House and making that a priority from now until November.

Deadline reports:

Deadline has learned that pre-production on Season 3 of Rudolph’s Apple TV+ comedy series Loot, which was scheduled to begin filming August 26, has been paused. According to sources, the cast and crew of the comedy series, which Rudolph headlines and executive produces, were told earlier this week that production has been pushed for scheduling reasons.

Maya Rudolph is taking her role in fighting for democracy dead serious, and we love her for it. This is nothing new for Saturday Night Live as they’ve become a target for far-right trolls who feel they use their platform to clown their orange overlord and his disciples while propping up his political rivals.

SNL previously employed a similar stunt-casting strategy in the lead-up to the 2020 Presidential election with Jim Carrey and Rudolph playing Joe Biden and Harris from the start of the TV season in early October through December. Carrey relocated to New York, where SNL is based, for the duration.

Jim Carrey as Joe Biden was hella funny though.

Now that Kamala Harris is the main focus of this year’s presidential campaign, it will be interesting to see how Maya Rudolph re-introduces herself when SNL returns to the airwaves on Sept. 28.

Are you excited about Maya Rudolph’s return as Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live? Let us know in the comments section below.

01 Aug 2024

Once Again: Cardi B Files For Divorce From Offset, Xitter Reacts

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Grand opening, grand close. Cardi B has reportedly filed for divorce from her husband, Migos rapper Offset, again.

The couple’s relationship has long been considered tumultuous at best thanks ever present rumors of infidelity, so social media is having a field day at the news, and the circumstances.

Page Six reports that the Bronx rapper’s decision to call it quits was confirmed by her rep. Reportedly, they tried to work things out at the top of the year, but they couldn’t get to a better place in their relationship, allegedly. A source claims that the latest rumors of Offset cheating is not what sparked the divorce.

“They’ve grown apart. That’s what drove her to this decision more than anything else,” the source told Page Six. “This is something she wants to do.”

Cardi is reportedly seeking primary custody of their two children, daughter, Kulture, 5, and a son, Wave, 2. Recently, the Bronx was spotted in New York City, hiding what looks like a prominent baby bump. However, she has yet to confirm if she is pregnant.

Although the couple was married in September 2017, since then they have separated multiple times (she filed for divorce in 2020, but it didn’t take), with their spats often being made public, usually by themselves. In late 2023 she shared that she was “single for a minute” but they were spotted out on a date since.

If there’s one thing social media always goes up for, it’s Cardi B and Offset drama, and today’s divorce revelation is no different. Peep some of the crazier reactions (the Offset slander is…intense) in the gallery.

01 Aug 2024

After CEO Shakeup, HYBE Unveils Plans for ‘HYBE 2.0’ Growth Strategy

Last week, HYBE — the Korean label and music company behind BTS, among others — announced that Jason Jaesung Lee would become its new CEO, replacing Jiwon Park, as part of what it dubbed its “HYBE 2.0” strategy. Today (Aug. 1), the company unveiled more specifics as to what that will start to look like.

HYBE says the strategy kicked off at the top of the year, and will see the company lean into its superfandom platform, Weverse, around the world, while also partnering with other companies globally “to adapt to the fast-evolving market landscape,” the company said in a press release.

The priorities the company laid out will reorganize the company — which had previously been structured as Label, Solution and Platform — into a broader Music, Platform and “Tech-driven future growth initiatives” framework. As part of that, the company laid out four new initiatives and several executive-level appointments with new leaders atop its reformed division.

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The first is the formation of HYBE Music Group APAC, which will encompass the company’s labels in Korea and Japan, which will focus on doubling down on the company’s strengths and strategies in that region and exporting them around the globe. The current president of BIGHIT Music, Young Jae Shin, who has helped oversee the success of BTS and Tomorrow X Together, will now take on the role of president of HYBE APAC and lead the Korean and Japanese labels’ global growth.

The second is a doubling-down on what the company calls its “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy in the U.S., Japan and Latin America. That will mean a new label service launched under HYBE America — which is led by Scooter Braun — that will bring in a management element to its current label operations, in a bid to “bring the K-pop methodology to the American pop scene.” As part of that, HYBE America says it signed a new U.S.-based group, KATSEYE, through its continued partnership with Geffen Records. The company also said that its HYBE Latin America division — whose CEO Jonghyun “JH” Kah recently spoke to Billboard about their plans — will ramp up beginning in 2025, while HYBE Japan will continue to roll out new artists as well under newly-appointed chairman Youngmin Kim, who until now had served as general manager of SM Entertainment.

The third is the launch of a subscription membership tier for superfan platform Weverse, which will go live in the fourth quarter of 2024 and be available to all artists who use the platform. That will include ad-free videos, digital membership cards and a private Weverse DM feature, while the main Weverse platform will begin incorporating ads. Weverse president Joon Choi spoke to Billboard two weeks ago (July 19) about the platform’s plans moving forward, as well as the onboarding of Ariana Grande onto the platform, joining many of the Korean artists already in the HYBE stable. (Grande, who cut ties with Braun and HYBE last year, resumed working with them in June.)

Finally, HYBE is planning to “merge content with technology,” which it says will “ensure mid to long-term growth” for the company. That is where HYBE’s investments in gaming, AI, audio and voice technology and integrated online/offline experiences will live moving forward.

“HYBE 2.0 focuses on fostering our future growth businesses centered on music, platform and technology,” newly-announced CEO Lee said in a statement. “HYBE will continue to excel in the music industry, solidify its position as the leading player in the superfan business, and secure long-term growth drivers through tech-driven future growth initiatives.”

01 Aug 2024

NewJeans’ Danielle Writes Supportive Note to Embattled ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin: ‘We’re Always on Your Side’

In the midst of the ongoing dispute between ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and her company’s owners at HYBE, NewJeans member Danielle has written a note of support to Min expressing her support and love for the boss she referred to as a “mother and warrior.”

According to a translation of the note posted on Instagram from Korea’s JoongAng Daily, Danielle wrote: “My beloved CEO, it’s Dani. It’s been two years already. Our CEO who really did the most, thank you so, so much. So much has happened during the short and long two years that it almost feels like we went through everything we should have in seven years. Maybe it was a sacrifice for the future.”

The letter thanked Min for “always being dedicated to the work,” while offering some kind words about the “hardships” Min has endured, travails that were not specified in the note. Back in May, a Seoul court barred HYBE from firing Min from her role as CEO of the ADOR subsidiary after an internal audit by HYBE and subsequent police report against the exec. Min was sued by BELIFT Lab in May for defamation and obstruction of business over her comments that BELIFT’s girl group ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans.

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On July 9, Min reportedly visited the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul for questioning after HYBE reported her to authorities citing breach of trust. Then, on July 15, the HYBE Labels subsidiary Source Music — home of K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM — sued Min for $361,000, accusing her of defamation and disruption of business in connection with comments Min made at two emotional press conferences held in April, claiming that her statements at the events damaged Le SSERAFIM. In response, Min has accused five HYBE executives of defamation and leaking private messages to the press.

In her letter to Min, Danielle continued, “You know that we’re always on your side, right? You’re my family. Whatever you choose, I want to be together with you. I want to stay by your side, even if I’m not much help. I always pray for you, support you and love you.”

NewJeans have continued to support their executive producer during the turbulent past few months, with member Minji thanking the ADOR CEO for her contributions to the group during an appearance on South Korean chart show Music Bank. “Once again, we would like to thank our CEO, whom we love and adore a lot. We love you, CEO!” Minji said at the time.

See the note from Danielle posted on Min’s Instagram below.

01 Aug 2024

Vybz Kartel Released From Prison After 13 Years

Vybz Kartel is a free man. After 13 years behind bars, Vybz — born Adidja Azim Palmer — was released from prison on Wednesday.

Per FOX 5, the Jamaica Court of Appeal voted unanimously not to have a retrial in the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams, which led to the dancehall star’s release along with his three co-defendants, Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John.

Even though Williams’ body was never discovered, Vybz was convicted in the murder in 2014. Kartel and his co-defendants faced accusations of killing Williams over two unlicensed firearms that weren’t returned to them.

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“We conclude that the interest of justice does not require a new trial to be ordered,” Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop stated, per BBC.

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One of the reasons the court cited was also because of Vybz Kartel’s deteriorating health situation, as he’s been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease and a heart condition. FOX 5 also reported that the Jamaican icon was battling a thyroid disease, while his lawyers said his prison conditions were “inhumane.”

Vybz regaining his freedom became a possibility when the U.K.’s Privy Council overturned the conviction against him and the co-defendants in March, citing juror misconduct due to an alleged bribery attempt.

Once King Charles signed off on the matter, Vybz’s fate was back in the Jamaican Court of Appeal’s hands.

In addition to the “Summer Time” singer’s health situation, the appeal court said the amount of time and lack of witnesses and financial resources needed also played a role in the decision against a retrial.

A celebratory scene broke out as fans were sent into a frenzy outside the Jamaican courthouse after learning that Vybz Kartel would be walking away free.

Vybz Kartel has worked with Rihanna, Eminem and Jay-Z in the past. The 48-year-old artist has launched seven different projects into the Reggae Albums chart’s top 10. His most recent LP arrived in 2021 with Born Fi Dis (Prelude).

01 Aug 2024

Man Stabbed To Death In South Carolina Was King Of Yoruba Village

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Oba Adegbolu Abiogemo Adejuyigbe Egunjobi Oyewole Adefunmi, II

A South Carolina man who was recognized as the king of an African village was stabbed on Monday (July 29) later succumbing to the wounds. Police have arrested the suspect but details are still largely being kept under wraps as the village prepares to properly bury the leader.

Oba Adegbolu Abiogemo Adejuyigbe Egunjobi Oyewole Adefunmi II was the king of Oyotunji African Village, located near Sheldon,  Beaufort County in South Carolina. Oyotunji was founded in 1970 by Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I.

According to a report from local outlet WJCL, reports of the stabbing Monday came in around 2:45 local time according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office’s communications team. Adefunmi was taken to a local hospital and died from the stab wounds.

A suspect, Akiba Kasale Meredith, 53, has been identified by the authorities and it now facing murder charges. According to the accounts delivered by BCSO officials, Meredith fled the area on foot but was later apprehended after walking back to the scene of the crime. A motive has not been established.

Akiba Kasale Meredith Mugshot

Source: Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office / BCSO

Officials at the Oyotunji African Village site have decided to speak with the press after completing proper burial services for Adefunmi.

Oba Adegbolu Abiogemo Adejuyigbe Egunjobi Oyewole Adefunmi II was 47.

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Photo: Allen Funerals