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31 Jul 2024

How Little Big Town Built 25 Years of Harmony on an Unconventional Foundation

The standard chord in a country song has three notes, but the members of Little Big Town approach their material with four voices.

The incongruity is a source of tension — good tension, to misquote John Lewis — that adds up to 25 years. The group gave its first public performance at the Grand Ole Opry in May 1999, sang the national anthem a day later before an Oscar de la Hoya boxing match in Las Vegas and received its first concert payday — a $2,000 check after opening for Dwight Yoakam — four weeks after that.

As Little Big Town celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Aug. 9 release of Greatest Hits, all four of the group’s original voices — Jimi Westbrook, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet — remain in the lineup, in a show of unity that defies the norm.

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“I think back to when we started and the people that were in town — a lot of those people are [still] here, but then there’s a lot of people that aren’t,” Westbrook reflects. “We know how hard it is to last this long in this. But then for a group of four individuals to stay together without any switch-out of personnel within the four of us — yeah, we know how hard that is. And we’re so grateful.”

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Little Big Town marks its silver anniversary with several notable undertakings. The band’s Greatest Hits collection will include three new collaborations: Sugarland joins the group on a cover of Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home,” Kelsea Ballerini assists on a reworking of the 2010 LBT track “Shut Up Train,” and Miranda Lambert updates the band’s 2010 single “Little White Church.” “She came in the studio and just smoked it,” Sweet says of Lambert’s performance.

Later in this anniversary year, LBT embarks on a Take Me Home Tour of 18 arenas with Sugarland, and NBC will present a two-hour holiday special, Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry, with a slate of unnamed guests.

Plenty has changed during LBT’s 25-year run. The members have been with three different labels; Westbrook and Fairchild married seven years into the band’s existence; Schlapman lost her first husband to a heart attack; and the addition of kids into the LBT mix created additional dynamics to navigate.

No matter how the tides of fortune have turned or their personal relationships have changed, the quartet has stayed committed to the group. They’ve done some work outside LBT, but none of them has released a band-challenging solo album.

“I think we find real joy in creating together,” Sweet says. “There’s something about that that heals — it brings things in that we couldn’t have done if we were all independent solo [artists]. I mean, harmony — cheesy as a word as that can be — it is a true thing. We found harmony within ourselves, and then when our voices sing together, we feel that joy, we feel that harmony, we feel something bigger than ourselves.”

The 25th anniversary and Greatest Hits point in tandem to what makes Little Big Town’s brand bigger than the average career. The bulk of the songs on Greatest Hits — including 2005’s “Boondocks,” 2012’s “Pontoon” and 2014’s “Girl Crush” — feel more recent than they really are. LBT’s Taylor Swift-written “Better Man” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 2017, seven years ago. It’s the last top 10 single the group has had, though other, more recent songs — including 2020’s RIAA-certified double-platinum party track “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” and 2019’s female-empowerment statement “The Daughters” — have made their biggest impact by widening the group’s creative turf.

This year’s Sugarland dates are a reminder of how Little Big Town connects even when country’s most traditional means of exposure, broadcast radio, isn’t particularly receptive. Those two acts teamed with Jake Owen for a 2007 cover of “Life in a Northern Town,” a choice that seemed quizzical at the time: a melancholy post-new wave pop song that contrasted with the heartland rockers that were most often used as country covers during that era. “Life in a Northern Town” didn’t chart, but it earned a Grammy nomination and became a cult favorite among the LBT fan base. It also strengthened the group’s creative convictions.

“It definitely shaped the way we approach making music — following our own creative inspiration rather than trying to chase radio, because that wasn’t always available for us,” Westbrook says. “I feel like we’ve probably always been that band that people gave us opportunities when we would stretch ourselves. So I think a lot of the biggest songs that we’ve had were moments that weren’t necessarily what people would call chasing a trend. It was us just kind of following our creative inspiration.”

That inspiration plays out unlike any other act in the format, in great part because LBT crams four voices into those three-note chords. In some of the act’s most effective pieces — “When Someone Stops Loving You,” “Silver and Gold,” “Leavin’ in Your Eyes,” “Tumble and Fall” — there are moments when the extra voice wedges itself in on a note that makes the harmonies thick and unstable with a slight sting of dissonance. Even if those songs don’t land among the band’s greatest hits, they fill out the members’ creative palette and put them in a distinct sonic country space.

“There’s tones between the tones,” Sweet explains. “There’s beautiful things that happen when we create together that I can’t explain. There’s vibrations and overtones and things that happen. You can’t explain it; you just have to feel them. [If] it goes to No. 58 on the charts, who cares? We loved it.”

Those songs, it can be argued, are — alongside the still-necessary hits — the key to the group’s longevity, keeping the fan base interested in Little Big Town’s work even as they keep the members interested in staying together.

“We’re still out here, fighting and loving every minute of it,” Westbrook says. “And I’m grateful that after 25 years that it’s still happening.”

31 Jul 2024

Boar’s Head Recalls 7 Million Pounds Of Products Due To Possible Listeria Contamination

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Popular Deli Meat Maker Boar Head's Recalls 7 Million Pounds Of Meat After Listeria Outbreak

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For years we’ve been told that eating foods like bologna, hot dogs, and other kinds of ultra processed foods are horrible for your health. Now, we’ve gotten some more incentive to avoid the delicious deli meats as Boar’s Head is recalling a lot of their products from your neighborhood markets and bodegas.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Boar’s Head has announced that they’ve recalled more than seven million pounds worth of ready-to-eat-meats and poultry products due to fears of possible listeria contamination. The news comes just days after they recalled an initial 270,000 pounds of meat for the same exact reason for their Strassburger Brand Liverwurst products that were made in Virginia on the same line during the same day.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

A liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health, “tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes,” according to FSIS alert. Meat intended for slicing at retail delis and some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations are also being recalled.

The products have sell-by dates ranging from July 29, 2024 through Oct. 17, 2024 and were distributed to retail locations nationwide with some exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama. The products shipped to retailers have the establishment number “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.

According to a Boar’s Head website July 30 message to customers, and out of an abundance of caution, the company voluntarily expanded the recall to all items produced at its Jarrett Virginia, facility. Boar’s Head also said they’ve “paused ready-eat-operations” at the facility until further notice.

We hope consumers take notice of the recall and check their Boar’s Head products before consuming them and ending up with a fever or a bad case of diarrhea. If you happen to be in possession of one of their recalled products, it is recommended that you thoroughly clean your refrigerators to prevent cross-contamination with your other produces on your shelves.

Yeah, it’s that real.

With that being said, be safe eating that “harmless” sandwich, y’all. You might end up paying for it one way or another.

31 Jul 2024

‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Box Office Success Spurs Massive Gains for *NSYNC, Madonna & Green Day Pop Classics

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 

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This week: Big movie soundtracks are back, as the classic hits-laden Deadpool and Wolverine and the modern country All-Stars-colleting Twisters both generate huge gains for their featured synchs upon their release, while a pair of very different artists get bumps from their memorable Olympics appearances and much more.

Deadpool & Wolverine & *NSYNC: Marvel Smash Boosts ‘Bye Bye Bye’ & More



Last weekend at the box office, Deadpool and Wolverine tag-teamed to shatter records: the Marvel superhero crossover starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman grossed a staggering $205 million domestically in its opening weekend, earning the top debut of 2024 so far, and the biggest bow ever for an R-rated movie. Naturally, the success of a film full of popular music cues — the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack includes smashes from Fergie, Goo Goo Dolls, Huey Lewis and the News and Avril Lavigne, among others — has resulted in several of those songs experiencing hefty streaming bumps… with Justin, JC, Joey, Lance and Chris leading the way.

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The beginning of Deadpool & Wolverine features Deadpool performing *NSYNC’s classic “Bye Bye Bye” choreography while the No Strings Attached single soundtracks an opening-credits action scene, a sequence that has already been deconstructed and meme’d across TikTok ad nauseum. As a result, “Bye Bye Bye” is booming on streaming platforms — the track sits at a new high of No. 32 on today’s Spotify daily top 50 U.S. chart, ahead of more recent smashes like Eminem’s “Houdini” and Taylor Swift & Post Malone’s “Fortnight” — and scored 3.35 million official on-demand U.S. streams from July 26-29, according to Luminate, up 382% from that streaming total during the same period the previous week (695,000 from July 19-22). “Bye Bye Bye” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000, and while the boy band classic probably won’t climb that high again, *NSYNC could actually threaten a return to the Hot 100 if these streaming numbers continue to grow in the coming days and weeks.

While “Bye Bye Bye” may be getting the biggest boost from Deadpool & Wolverine, just about every song on the soundtrack – from Eric Carmen’s ‘80s pop gem “Make Me Lose Control” to the Platters’ doo-wop standard “Only You” – sees major gains this week. In particular, a pair of late-20th-century pop perennials see major gains after being featured in the blockbuster: Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” was up 229% in streams from the weekend prior to the film opening (506,000 streams from July 19-22) to its opening weekend (1.66 million streams from July 26-29), while over that same tracking period, Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” was up 88% in streams, from 708,000 streams to 1.33 million streams. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

New Songs by Country Hitmakers Swept Up by Twisters Soundtrack



Before Deadpool and Wolverine stormed the box office, the biggest story in the film world this July was the breakaway success of Twisters, spiritual sequel to the 1996 tornado-chasers action-drama blockbuster Twister. While the soundtrack to the Oklahoma-set original film featured a mix of alternative and stadium rock, with just a smattering of country, the new installment – also taking place in the Sooner State – leans all the way in on the latter genre, with a 29-track accompanying album featuring big names from all corners of the country world.

While many of the tracks had been rolled out prior to the official release of the movie and its soundtrack two Fridays ago (July 19), all of those previously available songs saw huge bumps in the tracking week that followed. Miranda Lambert’s “Ain’t in Kansas Anymore” was up 112% in official on-demand audio streams (to 2.3 million) and up 268% in sales (to 1,700) from the prior week, according to Luminate, while Lainey Wilson’s “Out of Oklahoma” grew 182% in streams (2.9 million) and 750% in sales (3,100). And Luke Combs’ “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” already an established top 40 hit, jumps to a new peak on the Hot 100 this week (32-13), thanks to gains of 75% gain in streams (15.2 million) and 178% in sales (7,400). 

All the streaming success helped Twisters: The Album score an impressive No. 7 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week – making it the first soundtrack album to reach the chart’s top 10 since last summer’s Barbie: The Album, and the first country soundtrack to do so since Country Strong in 2011. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Olympics Opening Ceremony: Gojira, Céline Dion Streaming Catalogs Go for the Gold



The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics — the first commencement extravaganza held outside of a stadium in modern Olympics history, as athletes from around the world paraded by boat along the Seine in Paris on Friday night (July 26) — also included some unexpected musical showcases, from Lady Gaga’s take on “Mon truc en plumes” to Drag Race France stars dominating a fashion runway. 

Two of those performances, at very opposite ends of the musical spectrum, were still making waves on streaming platforms in the U.S. days after the opening ceremony: French head-bangers Gojira, which became the first metal act to perform at an Olympics ceremony, and pop legend Céline Dion, in her first performance since 2022 due to her struggle with stiff person syndrome.

Gojira’s surprising spot on the world stage naturally led viewers to peruse the long-running group’s back catalog: the band’s discography earned 3.12 million U.S. on-demand streams from July 26-29, according to Luminate, which represented a whopping 283% increase from the same four-day period the previous week (814,000 streams from July 19-22). And while Dion’s streaming catalog was starting at a much higher level of listens prior to the Olympics, her emotional return to the stage also sparked a major increase in plays, from 4.13 million streams from July 19-22 to 5.91 million streams from July 26-29 — a 43% gain. – JL

Virality of Royel Otis Cover (And Cranberries Original) Continues to “Linger” Thanks to… Uh, Well Just Read On



Australian pop-rock duo Royel Otis is rapidly becoming the internet’s favorite covers band. After their rendition of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Saltburn-revived U.K. pop hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” brought them a surprise top five hit on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, they caught fire this summer with a new take on the Cranberries’ enduring mid-’90s crossover smash “Linger.” While the cover version had been racking up millions of U.S. streams every week for months already, the song is spiking again the past week, for some extremely 2024 reasons. 

Your 14-year-old cousin could probably do a better job explaining the ins and outs of the cover’s recent virality than us, but we’ll give it a shot: Recently, popular Twitch streamer Sketch (real name: Kylie Cox) did a livestream that he called “Sketch of the Union,” meant to address rumors that had surfaced about him having previously appeared in gay porn films that had been shared on adult subscription service OnlyFans. During a particularly memorable part of the stream, Sketch gave credit to some of the folks who had stood by him during backlash he’d received stemming from the rumors (“Shout out Banks, shout out my parents…”), with his voice breaking from the emotion.   

Clips of this climactic moment of the livestream ultimately made their way from Twitch to TikTok, with user @DennysJob laying the Royel Otis “Linger” underneath video of Sketch’s shoutout section, for a clip that has amassed nearly seven million views. The combined audio of the song and the speech ended up going viral in its own right, with other users lip synching to the shoutouts, and many more flocking to the song’s YouTube comments section to post variations of “shout out Banks” (with Banks referring to FaZe Clan CEO Richard Bengston, better known as FaZe Banks). As a result, the Royel Otis “Linger” posted over 3 million official on-demand U.S. streams over the first four days of this tracking week (July 26-29), a gain of 135% over the same period the week before, according to Luminate.

But that’s not all, of course. The Cranberries’ original “Linger” – which has already seen some major TikTok success this year, even reaching No. 13 on the Billboard TikTik Top 50 back in February – also had been racking up weekly streams in the millions this summer, and is now also seeing a spillover bump from the Royel Otis version’s increased exposure. The ‘90s “Linger” notched nearly 2.6 million streams from July 26-29, a 25% gain over the same period the week before. If the gains continue, the two versions could be duking it out for position on various rock-based Billboard charts in the weeks to come. – AU 

Indian Rapper Hanumankind Makes Global Splash With Project Pat-Inspired “Big Dawgs” 



Thanks to an eye-popping daredevil music video and Project Pat’s timeless, irresistible flow, Kerala-born rapper Hanumankind has scored his first global hit with “Big Dawgs.”   During the week of July 12-18, “Big Dawgs” earned just over 40,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. That number exploded by an unbelievable 3,055% to over 1.27 million streams during the week of July 19-25, according to Luminate. 

Hanumankind, who is signed to Def Jam India, dropped “Big Dawgs” on July 9, with its official music video arriving the following day (July 10). The music video is inspired by the Well of Death, an attraction where people essentially drive motorbikes or cars around the walls of a silo at a near-90-degree angle. Naturally, such a visually arresting video made major waves, with several major streamers and Internet personalities sharing the clip with their Stateside followings. 

On July 24, hip-hop commentator DJ Akademiks shared the music video to his official Instagram page, which boasts 5.3 million followers. On July 25, TikTok personality @itsyujen shared a reaction to the music video, which garnered a whopping 6.4 million views. Over the next four days (July 26-29), “Big Dawgs” posted an 824% increase in streaming activity versus the same period the week prior, with over 3.8 million streams.

The song, which also features Kalmi, has taken over hip-hop discourse in the States, with many lauding Humankind’s nod to Project Pat and his commitment to the art of the music video. On TikTok, the official “Big Dawgs” sound boasts over 25,300 videos and the official music video has earned over 6.1 million views on YouTube. 

In an interview with The Hindu, Hanumankind revealed that both Project Pat and Bun B have privately given him his flowers. “These are my idols, my heroes. They hit me up,” he said. “They’re messaging me, telling me that they appreciate what we’re doing over here.” – KYLE DENIS

Kapo Scores Breakout Hit With “Ohnana” 



Five years after he debuted with the sultry “Humo,” rising Latin music star Kapo has secured an undeniable breakout hit in “Ohnana. 

According to Luminate, “Ohnana” has posted a 125% increase in streams over the past four weeks, with the song pulling in over one million official on-demand U.S. streams in each of those weeks. Released June 6, the song ended that month with just under 700,000 streams during the period of June 21-27. On June 27, TikToker user @kendryoficiall posted a self-choreographed dance video that kicked off a larger trend on the app. To date, Kendry’s initial video – which featured several dancehall-informed moves – has garnered 4.1 million views, leading the official “Ohnana” sound to over 230,500 posts on the app. 

On July 17, Grammy-nominated global superstar Maluma teased an upcoming remix of “Ohnana,” which garnered over 9.3 million views on his official Instagram alone. While the remix is still yet to be released, the tease helped “Ohana” earn one of its biggest week-over-week increases, jumping 35% in streaming activity from 1.7 million streams (July 12-18) to 2.3 million streams (July 19-25). 

In addition to its TikTok virality, “Ohnana” has soundtracked nearly 150,000 Instagram Reels and its official music video has pulled in nearly 31 million views in just one month. Already a massive hit in his hometown of Colombia – the song reached a new peak of No. 3 on the Colombia Songs chart dated Aug. 3 — “Ohnana” also helped Kapo make his first appearance on the Billboard Global 200 (No. 112, chart dated Aug. 3). With the Maluma remix still on the way, Kapo could be making hisHot 100 debut next. – KD

31 Jul 2024

R. Kelly Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn Sex Crimes Convictions, Citing Statute of Limitations

R. Kelly is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his convictions on child pornography and enticement charges, arguing the case should have been barred by the statute of limitations.

In a petition filed with the high court on Monday (July 29), attorneys for the disgraced R&B singer asked the justices to take up his case and toss out an April ruling by a lower appeals court, which said that “no statute of limitations saves him” from his 2022 convictions.

Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, argued that an updated federal law extending the statute of limitations, passed in 2003, could not be applied retroactively to Kelly’s alleged crimes, which occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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“Retroactive application of the 2003 amendment not only fly in the face of congressional intent,” Bonjean writes. “It violates notions of fundamental fairness.”

Like all appeals to the Supreme Court, Kelly’s case faces long odds. The high court receives thousands of petitions per year and only decides to hear a tiny fraction them.

This week’s petition deals with only one of Kelly’s two sets of felony sex abuse convictions. The other one — a September 2021 guilty verdict on racketeering charges brought by prosecutors in New York that resulted in a 30-year prison sentence — is currently pending on appeal before a lower appellate court.

In the current case, a different team of federal prosecutors from Chicago accused Kelly of violating child pornography laws, enticing minors for sex and obstructing justice by upending a 2008 criminal trial. Though he was acquitted on certain counts, Kelly was convicted in September 2022 and later sentenced to 20 years in prison; the vast majority of that sentence will be served concurrently with the New York sentence.

Bonjean, who famously won a 2021 ruling at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturning Bill Cosby‘s 2018 sex assault conviction, has repeatedly argued that Kelly is innocent and that she will take his cases all the way to the Supreme Court.

In doing so on Monday, she focused on the PROTECT Act — a 2003 federal statute aimed at preventing child abuse. Among other changes, the 2003 law eliminated the statutes of limitations for child sex abuse victims, extending the right to sue through the entire life of the victim.

But Bonjean said the PROTECT Act was not written to apply retroactively to crimes allegedly committed before it was passed. Without a clear intention from Congress to apply it to past crimes, she wrote, a law must be considered to only apply to future wrongdoing.

“This court has explained that the aversion to retroactive rulemaking is deeply rooted in our jurisprudence and embodies a legal doctrine centuries older than our Republic,” she wrote. “Elementary considerations of fairness dictate that individuals should have an opportunity to know what the law is and to conform their conduct.”

31 Jul 2024

Official HIGE DANdism on ‘Natural’ Growth That Led to Birth of ‘Rejoice,’ Their Joyful & Ambitious New Album: Interview

Billboard JAPAN interviewed Official HIGE DANdism for the latest edition of its  “MONTHLY FEATURE” series, highlighting today’s leading artists and works. The four-man band recently released Rejoice, its first album in almost three years.

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Starting with their breakout 2019 release “Pretender,” they have created countless hits, become a beloved band throughout the country. Their October 2022 release “Subtitle” was an especially big success, claiming the No. 1 spot on five of Billboard JAPAN‘s charts for the first half of 2023, such as the “JAPAN Hot 100” chart. Rejoice, their new album, contains a total of 14 songs, including “Subtitle” and “Mixed Nuts,” the opening theme of the SPYxFAMILY anime.

Billboard Japan spoke to all four members of the band about what led to the creation of this new album and the growing support they’re enjoying from overseas fans.

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When did you first start working on the overall image and concept of your new album?

Satoshi Fujihara: When we finished our last album, Editorial, we were talking about making our next album a more joyful one. The last album had shined a spotlight on deep-down feelings and melancholy about the future, we wanted to change the mood and go in a happier direction next.

How have the past three years, since your last album, been for you, as a band?

Fujihara: Our fan base has been growing since 2019. When we started out, I thought I might find that uncomfortable, but over the past three years, I’ve become comfortable with the fact that I live a kind of unusual life, in a good sense. A very blessed life. At the same time, it’s also felt like we’ve been able to expand our potential, always striving to create even better music, but not in a stoic way — instead, we’ve been able to do that while having fun. It’s been an extremely fruitful and pleasant three years.

Daisuke Ozasa: I think over these years we’ve become more confident in the music we like, our own individual character, and the kind of music that has shaped us through the years. I think that all comes out through the music on the album.

Masaki Matsuura: The discussions we had while creating the new album were relaxed and at ease. I think that was a sign of just how much we grew over those three years.

Makoto Narazaki: Of course, I want to get better, and I want to record good songs. But in the past, I felt like I had to hold myself up to a really high standard, while now I feel like I can just be myself. I think that the whole group’s atmosphere has changed in the same way. It feels more open, with more room to breathe. There’s this sense of “Why don’t we just try to have fun with everything we do?”

I’m sure you put a lot of care into the arrangements of the songs on the album, and how the songs develop, but you’re saying that one of your driving forces was a more simple sense of “It might be fun if we did this” or “It could be interesting if we did that”?

Fujihara: Exactly. Without that, it would just be a copy-and-paste job. I think that approach of arranging songs is a more natural style for us.

I think one of the things that makes Official HIGE DANdism’s music so appealing is that it goes in directions that the listener isn’t expecting. Your songs take on all kinds of musical challenges.

Narazaki: One of the biggest and most prominent examples of that is the structure of our songs, but we’re also taking on new challenges with our tone and in other areas which maybe listeners won’t notice. Songs are more fun if there’s some playfulness to them, and it’s great to listen to a completed song and be like, “that sounds really cool.” When you can do that, there’s the potential for doing it with different concepts, as well, which presents its own new challenges. I find that really satisfying.

Which are each of your favorite songs on the album?

Narazaki: For me, it’s probably “TATTOO.” We all got together in the studio, started up the DAW, and we were looking at the demo data on Satoshi’s computer, talking about how we wanted the song to sound. The demo had these vintage synth and keyboard sounds. It may just be me, but I find those kinds of sounds cheesy but at the same time kind of cool. Like, they put me at ease when I hear them, or they strike my fancy at the time. They’re timely, in an odd way. That’s why I like “TATTOO.” “Nichijo” and “Get Back To Jinsei” have a similar feel. If you think of each song as a stew, then it’s like they’re different stews but they have similar spices. They have that same sense of place in time, that same kind of nostalgic flavor. After working on them, when we worked on the other songs (on the album), I got that same sense of cool cheesiness and that same nostalgic feeling.

Fujihara: For me, it’s “Sharon.” In terms of musical theory, what we’re doing is a little fiddly, but the end result is incredibly natural. I’m very happy with how it came out. Now, we’re rehearsing it in preparation for live shows, and the power of the band really comes across. In a way, it’s a very dependable song — I can feel comfortable giving myself up to the music, which makes it one of my favorites.

Ozasa: I like “B-Side Blues.” It’s the first song that the whole band has recorded in a single take in about five years. The whole album isn’t exactly packed with notes, but this one has even fewer notes than most, so the feeling of each of our performances comes across very vividly. It’s also a beautiful song for bringing the album to a close. The word Rejoice has this image of profound, powerful joy. The album starts off with extremely energetic songs, like “Get Back To Jinsei.” But as the album progresses, the joy it expresses comes closer to home. Little by little, it becomes more personal, more about the things we value in our own lives. The album ends with “B-side Blues,” which truly expresses this personal joy.

Matsuura: Of all the songs on the album, the process of recording the drums took the longest for “Mixed Nuts,” so it left the strongest impression on me. It has a lot of jazz elements, and the tempo is fast, making it a hard song to play. I don’t have a jazz background, so I had someone who used to play jazz show me the ropes. There were a lot of cases like that, where I was studying new things, and when I’ve jammed with other musicians, sometimes they’ll ask how I played my part on “Mixed Nuts,” or they’ll say they think it’s a really interesting song. It’s the kind of song that spurs a lot of talk as a drummer, and was a ton of fun to play.

I expect you’ve been hearing from overseas audiences, too. Tell us about what their reaction has been like.

Fujihara: Yes, we’re getting a lot of messages on social media from overseas fans, in languages we can’t read, asking us to come to their countries and perform. It’s a strange feeling, but also a wonderful one. We did once play in Korea, a long time ago. There were only like three people in the audience. That makes all the feedback we’re getting from overseas audiences now feel that much stranger.

On Billboard JAPAN’s Global Charts, songs like “Pretender” are also very popular in Korea. They’re ranking highly in various countries throughout Asia.

Fujihara: Every time we hear a fan saying they’re waiting for us to play a show in their country, it makes us want to go there and perform even more. We haven’t done any overseas shows since that show in Korea, but lately we’ve been talking about how it would be nice to perform overseas sometime in the near future.

—This interview by Tomonori Shiba first appeared on Billboard Japan

31 Jul 2024

Donald Trump’s 8 Weirdest Answers From His NABJ Convo

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Donald Trump’s controversial appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention happened as scheduled on Wednesday, July 31, and as many predicted, it was a slow-moving, dumpster fire of a train wreck. While the moderators coolly delivered their questions, the ex-president came out defensive, and it was only downhill from there with some new brain-twisting and racist answers mixed in with the usual inflammatory rhetoric you’ve come to expect from the hostile candidate.

It all happened in Chicago, where ABC’s Rachel Scott, FOX News’ Harris Faulkner and Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba were tasked with holding Trump to account in front of a crowd of Black journalists. The jig was already apparent when NABJ announced there would be no questions from the audience.

Renowned political reporter April D. Ryan, has been particularly critical, and candid, about the NABJ’s decision to move ahead with the Q&A despite protestations from most everyone. “Trump came into our home, a Black Press advocacy convention, and insulted us in our face,” tweeted Ryan. “What is worse he was invited to do this by NABJ leadership. Shame!”

And that isn’t hyperbole. Although the convo was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET, it wasn’t until over an hour later that the event properly began. On social media, the rumor was Trump not wanting to be fact-checked was holding up the start. But during the early portion of the chat, Trump claimed the delay was due to the NABJ having issues with their microphones and sound equipment.

As for the interview itself, when Scott came out with a searing question, Trump lost his cool.

“A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals — from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama — saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true,” began Scott. “You have told four congresswomen of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys. You have attacked Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, ‘stupid and racist.’ You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you: Why should Black voters trust you, after you have used language like that?”

The weird and racist factor rose exponentially with Trump responding, “First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner.”

But but wait, it gets worse. Peep some of the weirdest Trump answers in the gallery.

1. Why should Black voters trust you?

Trump even brought out the “fake news” greatest hit of malarkey and also claimed the production was a half-hour later. But the kicker was his assertion that, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.” 

2. Late in the convo, he was still mad about the first question.

Triggered much? But Scott kept it cool. “I repeated your statement actually,” she said. Welp. 

3. Scott corners Trump about his pledge to pardon J6 rioters.

This is an example of the crowd laughing AT you. 

4. Kamala Harris once wasn’t Black, allegedly.

In an ultimate sign of disrespect, Donald Trump claimed that he didn’t know that Kamala Harris was Black until a few years ago. 

“She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? I respect either one.”

Disgusting.

Fact check, she has always identified as a Black woman and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which she joined while attending Howard University, an HBCU. 

5. Trump doesn’t respect Black women.

He claimed he won the classified documents case in Florida. He did not. 

7. What about Project 2025?

As soon as Faulkner was poised to ask a question about Project 2025, the interview was over. The jig is sky high.

8. Black jobs crisis?

During his usual border fearmongering, Trump was asked what’s a Black job? His answer: “A Black job is anybody that has a job.” 

Thanks for clearing that up, says no one. 

9. The whole interview.

A whopping 34 minutes of tomfoolery. 

31 Jul 2024

THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE Shoots to No. 1, Mrs. GREEN APPLE Holds at No. 2 on Japan Hot 100

THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE’s “24karats GOLD GENESIS” soars to No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, rising 49-1 on the chart dated July 31.

Digitally released in June, the track debuted at No. 40 on the list dated June 19 after collecting points in downloads, streaming and radio airplay. The CD version went on sale July 24 and sold 326,342 copies in its first week, powering the track to No. 1 after seven weeks on the Japan Hot 100 where it consistently performed well mainly in radio leading up to this week.

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Mrs. GREEN APPLE‘s “Lilac” holds at No. 2, still leading streaming for the sixth straight week. Overall points for the Oblivion Battery opener have increased slightly, with the track coming in at No. 7 for downloads, No. 3 for video, No. 98 for radio, and No. 9 for karaoke.

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Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” is back at No. 3, rising a notch after points for radio increased from the week before. The viral hit has been charting in the top 5 for 28 consecutive weeks.

STARTO for you’s “WE ARE” rises to No. 4. The charity single by the project featuring 75 members from 14 groups under STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, including King & Prince, SixTONES, and Snow Man, launched with 209,847 CDs to hit No. 2 for sales, but didn’t chart in any of the other metrics of the Japan Hot 100’s methodology.

Kocchinokento’s “Hai Yorokonde” continues to rise, moving 10-8 on this week’s chart. The track continues to hold at No. 1 for video for the fourth week in a row, and climbs 12-9 for downloads, 16-13 for streaming, and debuts at No. 75 for karaoke. Incidentally, while the video for “Hai Yorokonde” is being watched mostly in Japan (60%), it’s also being consumed in other countries including South Korea (8%) and the U.S. (5%), and the number of views in the latter two countries has been increasing in recent weeks, according to Luminate.

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 July 22 to 28, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

31 Jul 2024

Taylor Swift Reflects on Drawing Hilltop Crowd of ‘50,000 People’ Outside Her Munich Eras Tour Show

Taylor Swift‘s fan-favorite track “Long Live” could use an addendum: “Long live all the mountains we moved, *plus all the hilltops Swifties overran to join in on the Eras Tour fun.“

Following two performances in Munich, Germany, over the weekend, the 34-year-old pop star gushed in an Instagram post about the headline-making crowds she drew both nights. In addition to the enormous audience gathered inside Olympiastadion, tens of thousands of other unplanned viewers flocked to a nearby park both Saturday (July 27) and Sunday (July 28) in hopes of catching a glimpse of the three-hour-plus show happening in Olympiastadion.

“What a magical experience it was playing in Munich,” she began her post, sharing photos of her performances as well as a snap of the park’s hills teeming with Swifties. “The crowds of 74,000 people a night in the stadium were so passionate, and so generous to us. And I had no idea before I got to Munich that there’s a huge park behind the stadium, but around 50,000 people came out and listened to the show from the hillside both nights.”

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“I’ve been watching so many videos of the crowds out there fully participating in the show from afar, all that joy,” Swift added. “I’m feeling really grateful for the unexpected memories this tour has created. We have 11 shows left on the European leg of the tour, kicking off *August* with 3 shows in Warsaw!”

That accent on “August” is a nod to the 14-time Grammy winner’s beloved Folklore song named after the month. Fans online have already started celebrating the approach of “August” season, and the song — which has so far peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 — has been known to receive a boost in streams during the eighth month of the year.

As Swift mentioned, her European Eras dates are coming to an end soon, with just three stops left in Warsaw, Vienna and London. In October, she’ll swing back to North America for final laps through the U.S. and Canada before closing out the trek for good in December.

Unfortunately, her joyful Munich shows were quickly followed by tragedy in Southport, England, where three children died and 10 others were wounded in a deadly stabbing at a Swift-themed dance class Monday (July 29). According to The Associated Press, Merseyside police took a 17-year-old boy from Cardiff into custody after arresting him on the scene.

“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” the “Anti-Hero” singer wrote in a message on Instagram Stories the following day. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”

31 Jul 2024

Here’s Why Fans Think Charli XCX & Billie Eilish Are Collaborating on a ‘Guess’ Remix

Charli XCX seems to be joining forces with another pop brat.

The superstar revealed on Wednesday (July 31) that she has a remix of her Brat track “Guess” on the way, teasing her collaborator in a black-and-white photo posted to Instagram. “Guess?” she captioned the post, in which she’s seen posing in a white mini-skirt exposing her behind, while her mystery collaborator stands nearby holding up her shirt with a ring-filled hand, rocking low-rise baggy jeans and a series of boxers.

See Charli’s Instagram post here.

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Fans on X and in the comments were quick to point out that the mystery artist looks a whole lot like Billie Eilish, referring to the nearly identical rings the “Bad Guy” superstar has been photographed wearing lately.

If fans are correct to “guess,” the track would mark the first time the duo have collaborated. Charli XCX’s Brat has become a pop culture phenomenon since its recent release. Two Brat tracks are currently on the Hot 100, with “360” at No. 55 and “Apple” at No. 81. The album is also dominating Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with 16 tracks on the chart, the highest of which, “Apple,” is at No. 4. Brat currently sits at No. 14 on the Billboard 200.

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Speaking to Billboard at this year’s 2024 Women in Music event, Charli said that BRAT is a club record meant to evoke the illegal London rave scene of the early 2000s where she started performing as a 14 and 15-year-old, produced from a tight collection of sounds to create “this unique minimalism that is very loud and bold.”

See some of the most convincing fan theories that Charli XCX’s “Guess” remix will feature Billie Eilish below.

31 Jul 2024

Lil Yachty Says Drake Was ‘Genuinely Unfazed’ by Kendrick Lamar Feud

Lil Yachty has developed a close bond with Drake over the last few years, and he’s had a front-row seat to the 6 God’s recent career moves as a collaborator.

Boat stopped by the Flagrant podcast with Andrew Schulz on Wednesday (July 31), where he claimed that Drake was “genuinely unfazed” by the Kendrick Lamar feud, and has been able to tune out the deafening noise and “Not Like Us” trolls coming from the outside world.

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“He’s still that n—a. They both still that n—a. What’s gon’ change? They both gon’ do they thing,” he said. “I talked to him and that sh– didn’t bother him. As it shouldn’t — he’s the f—ing guy. If I had $700 million you couldn’t talk to me either.”

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While Yachty still kept in contact with Drake, he was actually overseas in Europe when the battle with Kendrick was reaching its peak.

“I never saw him down. I never saw him kicking his f—ing foot holding his head down, to the point where I stopped talking to him about it because I felt like I was the one bringing him the negativity,” Yachty continued around the 1:36 mark.

He continued: “I was bringing the cloud when I’d be like, ‘Man, I hate that this person said this.’ I was showing him sh– he hasn’t seen. Then I realized I’m bringing you the negativity, let me stop. I just realized his energy wasn’t down, so I wasn’t going to try [to bring him down].”

Earlier in the episode, Yachty and the co-hosts debated why a contingent of hip-hop fans were “energized about the elimination of Drake,” as Ye put it in April.

The “Minnesota” rapper hypothesized that people had Drake fatigue and were tired of seeing him winning and dominating the rap game for over a decade.

“I think people just hate on Drake because he’s the guy,” he speculated. “It’s also because he f—ed everyone’s bi–h. He’s also that guy, though. All the records, all the numbers. He’s the one.”

However, Lil Yachty regretted inserting himself into the commentary surrounding the beef. “I just wish I had never spoke on it,” he admitted.

Kendrick Lamar actually name-dropped the Atlanta native to jab at Drake on the scathing “Euphoria.” “Yachty can’t give you no swag neither, I don’t give a f— ’bout who you hang with,” Lamar raps on the diss track.

50 Cent had a similar theory to Yachty when it comes to his belief about Drake’s rap peers being jealous of his success.

“Look, our culture loves to see you go up because it’s confirmation that they can go up,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “But when you stay up — ‘I want this sh– forever, man’ — they go, ‘Well, goddamn. When you going to come down? If you don’t come down, I ain’t going to have my chance to go up.’ And then it’s these clouds that come over you, and that cloud is doubt, a shadow of doubt that doesn’t come from material or your work ethic.”

50 continued: “It’s doubt from the artist community, where they say, ‘I don’t know, his new sh– is cool, but it’s not his first sh–.’ They do that to you and Drake’s just experiencing what you experience as a backlash from success, from the consistency he’s delivered over and over. I don’t see a loss for Drake. The people who bought Drake material are going to buy Drake material when his next song comes out.”

Drake and Kendrick Lamar exchanged diss tracks from April into early May. Billboard hailed K. Dot as the victor, and he’s gotten the last laugh with his “Not Like Us” diss dominating the Billboard Hot 100, where it stands at No. 3 on this week’s chart after spending two nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.

Listen to the full podcast below. The pair of Drake segments take place around the 51-minute and 1:33 marks.