Author: djfrosty
Page: 22
Chris Stapleton isn’t taking part in one of Australia’s most infamous concert traditions.
The 10-time Grammy winner, who is currently on his first-ever tour of the country, has made it clear that he won’t be doing a shoey—drinking beer from a shoe—despite the custom being a fan favorite at major performances.
“I’ve heard about this. I asked somebody before I went on for the first night, ‘Is there anything that I should be prepared for?’” Stapleton said according to news.com.au.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“And then they’re like, ‘Yes, a shoey. They’ll want you to drink beer out of a shoe’. And I said I will graciously decline to do that. But no one has asked me to do that yet and maybe this interview will make someone want to do that. I don’t know. But I’m probably going to decline that request.
Trending on Billboard
“I mean is there some kind of penalty if I don’t do it? Are they going to throw things at me?”
The country star joins a growing list of artists who have opted out of the tradition, which has been embraced by performers like Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, and Morgan Wallen. While Stapleton remains appreciative of his Australian fans, he’s keeping the focus on his music rather than sideline antics.
Stapleton’s tour has been a massive success, with tickets selling out in minutes. His impact on the country music scene has been undeniable, with five No.1 albums and collaborations with Adele, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Dolly Parton, and Taylor Swift. His latest single, “Think I’m In Love With You”, saw renewed success after he performed a special version with Dua Lipa at the Country Music Awards in Texas.
In between sold-out shows, Stapleton has been making time to promote his Traveller Whiskey, which has just launched in Australia.
Partnering with Kentucky distillery Buffalo Trace, he emphasized that this isn’t just a celebrity-branded product, but a passion project.
“I don’t look at it as a side hustle, this is a company that makes some of the finest bourbons in the world and a bottle of something that master distiller Harlen Wheatley has made has been in the studio for every record I’ve ever made,” he said.
“This is a point of passion for me and you know it’s a bit of a hindrance, the perception that it’s a side hustle that somebody makes something somewhere and they get a celebrity to slap their name on it But I’m not into that and I really believe in what’s in the bottle and the people that are making the whiskey and they’re very serious about it and I am too.”
Stapleton’s Australian tour continues with back-to-back sold-out performances at Brisbane Entertainment Centre before heading to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on March 4 and 5.
Lizzo’s back! The superstar is launching her new album era with a brand new single, “Love in Real Life,” released on Friday (Feb. 28). She teased the song just a few days prior to its arrival, with a cinematic teaser over which she narrates: “Everything was so much simpler, and that’s exactly what I need. […]
As the progeny of Ernie Isley — a key songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of The Isley Brothers, perhaps the most prolific soul group of all time — Alex Isley knows a thing or two about sensuality and intimacy. With her self-penned, Camper-produced new single “Hands,” the two-time Grammy-nominated R&B singer seeks to enter a new era marked by fresh sonics, fearlessly self-assured narratives — and a new home at Free Lunch Records.
As announced earlier this month (Feb. 19), Warner Records entered a strategic partnership with veteran hip-hop/R&B executive Tim Hinshaw, expanding his Free Lunch Agency creative and tour company into a record label. With Isley and Syd — the Grammy-nominated R&B songwriter of The Internet fame – as the first signees, Warner artists will be able to access and leverage Free Lunch’s creative, touring and sync services. “I talked to a few labels, but with Warner, it was [about] the synergy and the timing,” Isley says. “I’m a firm believer in God’s timing. In talking with [Free Lunch Records general manager] Ericka Coulter and getting to know her and the Warner team, everything aligned.”
On Friday (Feb. 28), Isley unleashed the first taste of her forthcoming new era: “Hands.” Written “almost exactly a year ago,” “Hands” finds Isley building on the tender sensuality of tracks like last year’s Terrace Martin-assisted “2 Step in the Living Room,” infusing Camper’s earthy, bass-driven soundscape with a tasteful vocal performance showcasing her buttery falsetto and effortless melisma.
“I wasn’t necessarily expecting to start and finish a record that night with Camper, but that’s just how it happened,” Isley tells Billboard with a slight chuckle. “I wanted to create something moody and leaned more into my sensual side.”
Mood sensuality is also the guiding light for the “Hands” music video. Directed by City James and starring One of Them Days breakout star Patrick Cage II, the “Hands” music video casts Isley as an alluring vixen, expertly building up unmistakably carnal tension without feeling excessive or unnatural. To color her version of sensuality, Isley called upon her synesthesia – a condition that allows her to correlate colors with certain keys or chords. “This particular song evokes warm oranges, gold, and yellow tones,” explains Isley of her “Hands” mood board. “It’s also a bit moodier, almost like sunset tones. I wanted to paint with that color palette as much as possible.”
“Hands” previews Isley’s forthcoming album, one that Coulter calls “a true story you gotta read from start to finish. In addition to Camper, Isley also tapped Grammy-winning DJ and producer Kaytranada, longtime collaborator Jack Dine and producer Oh Gosh Leotus, who helped capture the sonic essence of Los Angeles. Though she was born in New Jersey, Isley has lived in L.A. for the vast majority of her life, and she hopes her new music is reflective of the unwavering community and togetherness the City of Angels displayed in the wake of January’s devastating fires.
“I’m not sure if I was aware of how resilient the city is because we’ve never seen anything like these fires,” remarks Isley. “Being able to see and feel that in January was heavy but also very inspiring. It made me want to be even more intentional with my music and how I share it. It just means that much more to me to be able to share the music at this time.”
Stream “Hands” below.
Say hello to LISA‘s Alter Ego. After months of buildup, the BLACKPINK star has at last unveiled her debut solo album, complete with 15 new tracks and collaborations from Megan Thee Stallion, Future, Tyla and more.
Featuring the previously released singles “Rockstar,” “New Woman” featuring Rosalía, “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” and “Born Again” with Doja Cat and RAYE, Alter Ego finds LISA channeling a quintet of different personas: Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni and Speedi. “It represents five characters of me as well, like I feel related with them,” she told Sean Evans on Hot Ones one day prior to the LP’s release.
“It feels like I can express myself in a different version of me, and it’s fun,” she continued “I can’t wait for my fans to listen to this album, to really enjoy this album and see a different side of LISA.”
Leading up to Alter Ego, the Thai rapper had only released two proper solo singles: 2021’s “LALISA” and “MONEY,” both of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, she also appeared sans her bandmates on DJ Snake’s “SG” with Ozuna and the “HISS” rapper, who features on an Alter Ego track titled “Rapunzel.”
LISA is just the latest BLACKPINK member to release a set of solo songs in recent months. ROSÉ dropped her first-ever solo album, rosie, in December, two months after which JISOO unveiled an EP titled AMORTAGE. JENNIE will follow suit March 7, with the Idol actress’ debut LP Ruby scheduled to arrive one week after Alter Ego.
The foursome will soon get back together, though, with BLACKPINK announcing a summer 2025 world tour earlier this month. It’ll mark the ladies’ first trek together since 2022-2023’s Born Pink World Tour, which supported Billboard 200-topper Born Pink.
In her November Billboard cover story, LISA said that she “can’t wait” to reunite with her bandmates. “We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project,” she added of their time apart spent working on solo music. “So we want to support and say, ‘You did really well!’ … They’re like family. I’m just so happy that they’re releasing something. This is what we all wanted to do, so I just wanted to say that I really do love their songs.”
Listen to LISA’s Alter Ego below.
Anna Lunoe has joined forces with pop icon Melanie C for “Girl,” a high-energy dance track that fuses Lunoe’s signature production with the former Spice Girl’s powerhouse vocals. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The song, which first surfaced during Lunoe’s set at London’s Drumsheds last year, marks […]
Garbage are back, announcing their first new album in almost four years.
Dubbed Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, the new LP will be their eighth, and follows on from the release of 2021’s No Gods No Masters and a pair of EPs in recent years. Their new record arrives on May 30 via Stun Volume.
“Our last album was extremely forthright. Born out of frustration and outrage – it had a kind of scorched earth, pissed off quality to it,” singer Shirley Manson explains in a statement. “With this new record however, I felt a compulsion to reach for a different kind of energy. A more constructive one. I had this vision of us coming up out of the underground with searchlights as we moved towards the future.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Searching for life, searching for love, searching for all the good things in the world that seem so thin on the ground right now. That was the over-riding idea during the making of this record for me – that when things feel dark, it’s best to try to seek out that which is light, that which feels loving and good.
“When I was young, I tended towards the destruction of things,” Manson adds. “Now that I’m older I believe it’s vitally important to build and to create things instead. I still entertain very old romantic ideals about community, society and the world. I don’t want to walk through the world creating havoc, damaging the land and people. I want to do good. I want to do no harm.”
Recorded in a number of locations – including Los Angeles’ Red Razor Sounds, Butch Vig’s Grunge is Dead studio, and Manson’s bedroom – the album’s announcement notably hasn’t been accompanied by a lead single. Rather, the band have promised that a preview will arrive “in the coming weeks”.
The new record also arrives following a few months of downtime for the band, with Garbage announcing in August they were forced to cancel the remainder of their 2024 tour dates due to Manson requiring “surgery and rehabilitation” for an undisclosed injury suffered while on tour in Europe. The group are slated to return to the road in March for a run of South American tour dates.
The impending release of Let All That We Imagine Be the Light will also become Garbage’s fourth album since they resumed activity in earnest in 2010, following a five-year period of hiatus.
Their debut self-titled album, Garbage, released in 1995, achieved double-platinum status and peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200. Their follow-up album, Version 2.0, released in 1998, reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and further cemented their reputation as one of the leading bands of the era.
Garbage have remained busy with musical projects in recent years, including 2021’s, No Gods No Masters. The album debuted at No. 95 on the Billboard 200 and included tracks like “The Men Who Rule the World.” They also collaborated with artists like Screaming Females and Brody Dalle on a special edition of the album, and toured with Alanis Morissette on her Jagged Little Pill anniversary tour in 2022.
Beabadoobee has used her recent time Down Under to share a cover of a beloved New Zealand classic, covering Bic Runga’s “Sway” for Like a Version, the long-running segment from Australian radio station triple j.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Recorded during the 24-year-old singer’s latest trip to Australia as part of the Laneway Festival, Beabadoobee offered up two performances for the session, including her original “Beaches” and a take on Runga’s 1997 single “Sway”.
Originally released on Runga’s debut album Drive, “Sway” peaked at No. 7 on the local New Zealand charts and has since gone on to be considered as one of the country’s most beloved songs. In 2001, the track was ranked at No. 6 on APRA’s (the Australasian Performing Right Association) list of the top 100 New Zealand songs of all time.
“ I chose to cover this song because my mum used to play it a lot when I was growing up and I mean, she’s badass,” Beabadoobee explained in a post-performance interview. “It was just really nice seeing an Asian woman kind of playing indie music like that.
“I was scared I wasn’t gonna do it justice,” she added. “But I love this song so much and if anything, I’m doing it for my mum and she doesn’t know that I’m actually covering this song so I’m really excited. Every cover I’ve done in my career has been for my mum, so I hope she likes this one too.”
Indeed, this isn’t the first cover that Beabadoobee has delivered in recent months. Back in October, she joined the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge to share her take on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste,” blended with a little bit of The Corrs’ “Breathless.”
The BBC performance also included a performance of “Beaches,” which was featured on Beabadoobee’s third album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves. The record has been her most successful to date, becoming her first to top the U.K. charts, and even reached No. 34 on the Billboard 200. It also hit No. 6 on the Independent Albums and Top Album Sales charts, and snuck into No. 10 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart.
Beabadoobee is also up for British artist of the year and best alternative/rock act at the Brit Awards, which will be handed out on Saturday (March 1).
Titan Content formed a strategic partnership with Imperial Music (a division of Republic Records) to collaborate on its upcoming girl group, AtHeart. The group — which released a new teaser video and launched official social media channels alongside the announcement — will share a “pre-debut introduction song and video” on March 14, according to a press release. AtHeart consists of seven members: Michi, Katelyn, Seohyeon, Aurora, Bome, Arin and Nahyun. The group’s formation was led by former SM Entertainment CEO Nikki Semin Han.
Spotify began accepting audiobooks from ElevenLabs, an AI software company that provides voice narration technology. Authors can now distribute their ElevenLabs content to Spotify and other audiobook retailers via audiobook distributor Findaway Voices. According to a blog post, all digitally narrated titles will be “clearly marked in the metadata on Spotify” and other platforms, while the book description “will be prepended with the first sentence stating, ‘This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.’”
Korean entertainment group Starship Entertainment struck a copyright partnership with Chinese music platform NetEase Cloud Music. The deal brings Starship’s entire catalog, including Korean girl group IVE, to Chinese audiences. According to a press release, NetEase Cloud Music boasts 206 million monthly active users.
Universal Music Japan acquired a majority stake in A-Sketch, a Japanese artist management business and record label that boasts acts including Saucy Dog, Flumpool and Ayumu Imazu on its roster. A-Sketch is also home to Mash A&R, a rock management company in Japan that manages The Oral Cigarettes, FREDERIC and Saucy Dog. Under the deal, Universal Music Japan will acquire the stake in A-Sketch that’s currently owned by Amuse. A-Sketch will now operate as a label division within Universal Music Japan and continue to be led by A-Sketch representative director/president Nobuyuki Soma, who will report to Universal Music Japan president/CEO Naoshi Fujikura. “The acquisition will further bolster Universal Music Japan’s in-house artist management capabilities and expand its ability to drive new creative and commercial opportunities for its artists,” as stated in a press release.
Reservoir Media acquired U.K. dance and electronic label New State. The deal includes New State’s entire recorded music catalog consisting of more than 13,000 tracks by artists including Zero 7, The Beloved, Paul Oakenfold, Dirty Vegas, D:Ream, Double Trouble, Rebel MC and Congo Natty. Reservoir will continue marketing and releasing new music by New State artists via its Chrysalis Records label.
Create Music Group announced a strategic catalog acquisition and go-forward venture with Pack Records (a.k.a. Pack.), a New York and New Orleans-based indie record label, publisher and artist partnership company co-founded by Sky McElroy, Jett Wells and Gavin Chops. The companies previously established a publishing joint venture. Under the deal, Pack. and its artists will have access to Create’s proprietary technology, global distribution, data-driven marketing insights and monetization tools. Pack.’s roster includes aldn, CONNIE, Blood Cultures, daine, Dava and Godly the Ruler. Its catalog boasts recording and publishing rights “at the heart of internet and gaming culture viral moments,” according to a press release, including aldn’s “icantbelieveiletyougetaway,” Ezekiel’s “help_urself,” Godford’s “Downtown,” and Internet Girl’s “PULL UP,” as well as the CONNIE-produced “DIVE IN!” by JELEEL! and “Stupid” by Lexa Gates.
Hook, the AI-powered platform that allows users can legally remix songs and earn income for doing so, signed a strategic partnership with digital music distributor Too Lost. More than 300,000 artists and labels will be brought to Hook through the deal, including Teddy Swims, Tommy Richman, Ty Dolla $ign, Fivio Foreign, Kodak Black, Justin Beiber, Playboi Carti, James Blake, Pink Sweats and Emei. This is Hook’s fourth distribution partnership following deals with FUGA/Downtown, Revelator and Gyrostream.
iHeartMedia and the government communications office of the State of Qatar signed a multi-year partnership that aims to develop a state-of-the-art podcast studio in Qatar and release both original and existing podcast content to Arabic audiences. Under the agreement, iHeart will also offer specialized masterclasses to develop local podcasting talent and host global industry events, including annual Web Summit gatherings — the partnership was announced at this year’s Web Summit in Qatar — in an effort to position the Middle Eastern country as a regional podcasting hub.
Synch platform SourceAudio struck a deal with the Wolfman Jack estate through which the company will repurpose and discover new monetization opportunities for the radio legend’s shows. Through the AudioGenius tool on SongLab — SourceAudio’s AI-powered suite of music tools — the Wolfman Jack estate will be able to “reuse, repurpose, control, and monetize their valuable content archives across today’s digital platforms and ecosystem,” according to a press release. According to Tod Weston Smith, son of Wolfman Jack and president of Wolfman Jack Entertainment, AudioGenius “has significantly streamlined our process, allowing our Wolfman Jack team to access and retrieve clips from our extensive digital archives in seconds, rather than spending hours searching, and we are now able to generate additional revenue from previously underutilized or unused content.”
SoundCloud partnered with Ticketmaster and its self-serve event ticketing and marketing platform Universe in an integration that will allow SoundCloud’s Artist Pro users to create and manage events; sell tickets and share shows directly on the streaming platform; and enjoy amplification opportunities across SoundCloud, Ticketmaster and Universe. They will also have the ability to use Universe to manage and track ticket sales.
Former Bad Boy Entertainment president Kirk Burrowes has sued Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mother, Janice Small (a.k.a. Janice Combs), for allegedly coordinating with her famous son and other co-conspirators to forcefully strip him of his alleged ownership stake in the iconic hip-hop label.
Per the complaint — filed by attorney Tyrone Blackburn on Wednesday (Feb. 26) in the Southern District of New York — Burrowes claims that alongside her son, then-Bad Boy Entertainment attorney Kenneth Meiselas and other unknown co-conspirators, Smalls illegally seized his alleged 25% financial stake in Bad Boy and his 15% share of the label’s annual earnings through “intimidation, violence, fraudulent, misrepresentation and financial concealment.”
The complaint references a specific incident in May 1996 during which he claims Combs stormed into his office and proceeded to threaten him while wielding a baseball bat. Fearing for his safety, Burrowes — who claims to have co-founded the label — claims he signed a contract under duress without seeking any legal counsel, effectively conveying what he claims was his 25% interest in Bad Boy to Combs.
Burrowes, who says he served as Bad Boy’s COO/GM at the time of the 1996 incident (he was promoted to president the following year) and was “instrumental in shaping the company’s success,” alleges that losing out on his claimed 25% ownership stake and Bad Boy stock options caused him “significant financial compensation and employment benefits” along with “irreparable personal, psychological and professional harm.”
“Smalls carefully maintained a facade of integrity, portraying herself as an innocent bystander while orchestrating plaintiff’s financial and professional downfall behind the scenes,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit further claims that Smalls requested Burrowes’ counsel as recently as 2021 on a documentary about the history of Bad Boy, but that she ultimately reneged on their compensation agreement.
Burrowes previously filed suit against Combs over the alleged 1996 incident in 2003, but that earlier complaint was eventually dismissed in 2004 by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. (Combs is currently behind bars awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in a wide-ranging criminal case.)
Burrowes is seeking the return of his alleged 25% Bad Boy stake or compensatory damages matching the value of that stake, as well as an audit of Bad Boy’s earnings since the company’s origination.
Last April, Burrowes’ attorney Blackburn was referred to the grievance committee for New York’s federal court district by Judge Denise Cote for his alleged history of frivolous lawsuits. The judge cited his conduct in five different cases and claimed his filings featured “glaring deficiencies.” Two months prior, Blackburn had filed a sprawling lawsuit against Combs on behalf of producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr., who accused the mogul of sexual assault, sex trafficking and various other forms of misconduct.
Billboard reached out to Combs Global in an effort to reach a representative for Smalls but did not hear back by press time.
Justin Timberlake has canceled his show in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday night (Feb. 27), due to the flu. The star took to his Instagram Stories shortly before doors were scheduled to open at the Nationwide Arena to share a statement. “You guys. I’m heartbroken,” he wrote. “I have to cancel the show tonight. I went […]