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Inside Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Spotify Pop-Up | All Access | Billboard News

Taylor Swift’s upcoming album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ has everyone excited, and fans can’t wait to uncover the hidden meanings and Easter eggs within her Spotify pop-up, The Tortured Poets Department Library.

Chris Olsen:
This is crazy. I mean, what Spotify has done is also so beautiful. The energy here is beautiful, Swifties are the best people in the world

Tetris Kelly:
So many Swifties, lyrics and Easter eggs? It’s Tetris with Billboard, and Spotify is helping us celebrate ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ Taylor Swift, what are you telling us? We try to find out in Billboard All Access. You wouldn’t believe the line at The Grove as Spotify enticed Swifties with a mission before Friday’s release of ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’

Swiftie #1:
I cannot wait. I actually can’t believe it’s already coming out. We just saw you at Coachella, Taylor!

Swiftie #2:
I literally can’t wait. This woman’s a genius. She is a genius! 

Swiftie #3
Twenty new songs, hopefully some music videos, merch, it’s gonna be amazing.

Tetris Kelly:
Fans grabbed bookmarks and a card where they could pick the song they’re most excited for and then deposit it at the library pop-up. And in addition to hidden lyrics and titles, they also had a photo opp to commemorate the moment. And what are the Easter eggs here? I gotta find them.

Chris Olsen:
There’s a lot of 2’s here. There’s a lot of Easter eggs that lead to the number 2, and I don’t know what that means, but I’m shaking once again.

Swiftie #1:
I saw the December 13th sign over there. And then I also saw a journal that said “us” and it was like hidden behind something and I really wanted to go in there and see if it was a journal about her and Travis, but who knows.

Watch to learn more!

Creepy Nuts’ ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ at No. 1, Kenshi Yonezu at No. 2 on Japan Hot 100

Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” extends its stay atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100 to 12 weeks on the chart dated April 17.

While downloads for the MASHLE Season 2 opener dropped to No. 5, the hip-hip track continues to hold the top spot for streaming, video views, and karaoke.



Kenshi Yonezu‘s “Sayonara, Mata Itsuka!” (“goodbye, see you again sometime”) debuts at No. 2 this week. The latest track by the J-pop hitmaker is currently being featured as the theme song for the latest installment of the historic NHK morning drama series entitled The Tiger and Her Wings. After being digitally released April 8, the song racked up 39,275 downloads in its first week, surpassing the 34,423 downloads of its predecessor “Spinning Globe.” “Sayonara” also debuts at No. 8 for streaming and No. 5 for video, also a better start than the previous single. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter’s previous No. 1 hits “KICK BACK” and “Lemon” rise 75-72 and 98-82 respectively, possibly influenced by the release of this new track.

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Bowing at No. 3 is “Chance wa byodo” (“chances are equal”) by Nogizaka46. The J-pop girl group’s 35th single went on sale April 10 and hit No. 1 for sales with 713,872 copies sold in its first week, while also coming in at No. 15 for downloads and No. 14 for radio. The song’s first-week sales was about 20,000 copies more than the group’s previous single, “Monopoly.”



Number_i’s “Blow Your Cover” debuts at No. 5 on the Japan Hot 100, after hitting No. 1 for radio, No. 2 for downloads, and No. 7 for video. Number_i took the stage at Coachella for the first time on Sunday (April 14), performing “FUJI” and “GOAT,” the latter including a surprise collaboration with Jackson Wang.

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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” debuts at No. 11. The opener for the anime Oblivion Battery comes in at No. 4 for downloads, No. 15 for streaming, and No. 8 for video.

In other Japan chart news, Hikaru Utada’s songs off her latest best-of album Science Fiction, which topped all the album charts this week, also moved up the song chart. “Traveling” is at No. 27, “First Love” at No. 43, and “automatic” at No. 80. 

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 April 8 to 14, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

Mary J. Blige Responds to Flavor Flav Comparing Her to Taylor Swift

Mary J. Blige knows a fellow truth teller when she sees one.

The R&B superstar opened up to People recently about Flavor Flav’s comments comparing her to Taylor Swift, in the sense that they both write about relatable life experiences. “I mean, I love Taylor Swift. She sings about what’s going on in her life,” Blige said. “It’s kind of similar because she definitely gives you a piece of a relationship in a minute and whatever she may be dealing with. And that’s just her therapy. That’s just her way of expressing herself through her song, and people relate.”

She added, “It’s definitely kind of the same thing. I use my music as my therapy and a way to escape, or a way to express myself and just say how I’m feeling. What else are we going to do?”

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Earlier this year, during an interview with HOT 97’s Ebro in the Morning, Flav likened the two singers. “She’s writing a lot about her, you know, experiences that she goes through in life. Just like Mary J. Blige — you know what I’m saying?” the Public Enemy star shared.

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Flav has been open about his love for Swift over the past year, sharing in the same interview how he became the “King Swiftie” of the fandom. “It started because I got a girl that lives in Detroit and her kids wanted to go to the Eras Tour concert. So my manager got in contact with Taylor Swift’s people and they hooked me up some tickets and passes,” he recounted. “When we walked over to the tent where I was supposed to be at, a lot of these fans were coming up to me — these young kids, man, I’m surprised they even knew who I was! — and they start giving me these friendship bracelets. Next thing you know, I have friendship bracelets all up and down my arm. We were trading bracelets and everything! Her fanbase embraced me, and I embraced them back.”

He continued, “So, I went home and I started really listening to Taylor. I’m listening to her music, and I’m like, ‘Yo, this girl is dope!’”

Ludacris Clarifies Viral Story About Justin Timberlake Grammys Argument: ‘It Was No Cursing Out’

Ludacris couldn’t contain his excitement in his yearslong grind to finally take home best rap album at the Grammy Awards, which he did when Release Therapy reached the rap Grammy mountaintop at the 2007 ceremony.

Luda let his emotions pour out backstage as he celebrated loudly with his team, which Justin Timberlake apparently overheard in the room next door, as the *NSYNC singer told the Atlanta rapper to pipe down.

The Chicken-n-Beer rhymer joined Sean Evans for an episode on Hot Ones on Thursday (April 18), and he clarified details of the backstage argument with Timberlake after it resurfaced and went viral earlier this year.

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“The Internet went a little crazy with it. He definitely meant it, but it was no cursing out. He was behind the curtain and I was celebrating so openly and I was so loud,” Ludacris explained. “I think it was said more in fun, but there was definitely some truth behind it. Like, ‘OK, show’s not over. Stop celebrating so openly, I haven’t won any yet.’ With a smile on his face type of thing.”

Ludacris pulled up to Drink Champs in February, where he expanded on the mix-up with JT backstage. “At this time, they had all the artists separated by curtains, so motherf—ers weren’t in specific rooms. I say that to say I get back and I’m like, ‘Yeah! F— yeah! I made it! I did it! I won! I literally set out to get a Grammy and I got it!’” he said.

“All of a sudden, I hear this voice from the other side of the curtain. They yell, ‘Shut the f— up! Some of us didn’t win any God—n Grammys today!’ I pull the curtain back and this n—a Justin Timberlake is on the other side of that motherf—er.”

Best rap album wasn’t the only hardware Ludacris took home at the ’07 Grammys: The Pharrell-assisted “Money Maker” won best rap song honors too.

Ludacris reflected on setting a goal to make Release Therapy so undeniable that the Recording Academy had to give him the Grammy trophy.

“The reason was this was for all of these years, I want to say it was a good nine or 10 years, I was in the same category of solo male rap artist as Eminem, 50 Cent, DMX, Jay-Z. So I finally got to a point [where] I was so consistent that I just built up this momentum and I finally had my time,” Ludacris said.

“That was probably one of the — if not the — best times in my career for literally setting out and making sure I had a goal and accomplishing that goal… It meant everything to me.”

Release Therapy debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 following its September 2006 release, with 309,000 albums sold in the first week.

For the record, Timberlake also won two Grammys that year — best dance recording for “SexyBack” (featuring Timbaland) and best rap/sung collaboration for “My Love” (featuring T.I.). JT lost in two other categories that year — album of the year and best pop vocal album, both for his megahit FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Elsewhere in Luda’s Hot Ones test — which he aces — the rapper reveals he’s related to legendary comedian Richard Pryor and recalls Ben Stiller inviting him over for a private screening of Tropic Thunder to get his clearance to use “Get Back” in the film.

Watch the full episode below. Talk of the Timberlake/Luda spat begins around the 8:45 mark.



Betting On Yourself: Toronto Raptors Jontay Porter Slapped With Lifetime Ban For Violating NBA’s Gaming Rules

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CANADA-TORONTO-NBA-THUNDER VS RAPTORS

Source: Xinhua News Agency / Getty / Jontay Porter

Jontay Porter f***ed around and found out. The now-former two-way player for the Toronto Raptors gambled his money and his NBA career away.

NBA.com dropped the news yesterday that Jontay Porter, brother of Denver Nuggets superstar Michael Porter Jr., has been slapped with a lifetime ban for violating the league’s gaming rules.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came down with the hammer on Porter after the league wrapped its investigation and discovering he “disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games,” the website reports.

Per NBA.com:

The league’s investigation found that prior to the Raptors’ March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor. Another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sports book, to win $1.1 million, wagering that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game.

The league’s investigation also found that Porter limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game. In the March 20 game, Porter played only three minutes, claiming that he felt ill. Due to the unusual betting activity and actions of the player, the $80,000 proposition bet was frozen and not paid out.

Jontay Porter Bet On Himself & Lost Big Time

The bets Porter made that involved his performance in the Raptors’ March 20 game were brought to the league’s attention by licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets.

Bruh

The website notes that Porter placed 13 bets from January through March 2024 while traveling with the Raptors and Raptors 905, the Raptors’ G-League affiliate. None of the bets were made on games he played in.

Adam Silver Issues A Statement

“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment.  While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players.  Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

Welp.

Of course, social media has been lighting Porter’s a** up. There are also some wild takes, which you can see in the gallery below.

3. One way ticket out of here

4. L M A O

5. Hoooowwwllliiinnnggg

Taylor, the Disruptor: The Star’s Return to TikTok Shows Her Power

On Jan. 30, the day before Universal Music’s deal with TikTok lapsed, the company announced in an open letter that “we must call time out on TikTok,” for not paying rightsholders and creators enough. Universal immediately began removing its recordings from the platform — then, by the end of February, took down every composition to which it had some rights. Essentially, Universal went to war for the value of music, to benefit not only it and its artists and songwriters, it said, but the entire industry. And although the two other major labels declined to comment at the time, Primary Wave, Downtown and Hipgnosis publicly backed Universal, and in late March Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer told the Financial Times that he did not rule out taking the same action as Universal.

Not Taylor Swift, though.

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By April 11, a little over a week before the release of Swift’s new album —The Tortured Poets Department, which comes out April 19 — songs from Swift’s albums to which she owns the rights were available on TikTok. Which made for an uncomfortable conversation, you’d have to imagine — and that’s about all you can do, because neither Universal nor Swift’s representative would comment and TikTok could not be reached for comment.

It seems that Swift’s contract with Universal allows her to either license the recordings she owns herself or somehow opt out of label licensing policies, which is an unusual amount of independence. Usually acts with that kind of leverage choose to leave their music off of new services — the Beatles waiting to offer their music on the iTunes Store is the classic example — or strike some kind of exclusive deal, like Garth Brooks did with Amazon Music. It’s hard to think of another example where a label announced it was going one way and its biggest artist — although she hasn’t said anything about her decision — went another.

That’s a big deal. Eventually, Universal’s other megastars — think Morgan Wallen, Drake, or The Weeknd — might want that same freedom or start to think about using whatever freedom they already have. Some artists have more power than others, though: Swift’s contract is generally thought to be more like a distribution deal, where she owns her new recordings, including the Taylor’s Versions of her old albums, but licenses them to Universal. Also, with 18.9 million album consumption units in 2023, more than some divisions of major labels, she has more market power than any other artist.

Given TikTok’s relatively low payouts, many executives assume that Swift appreciates the platform’s promotional value, even though she doesn’t exactly need it — Tortured Poets would almost certainly be the biggest album of the year either way. There’s also speculation that she wants to reach out to younger fans with shorter attention spans.

This reasoning seems to go against Swift’s reputation for sticking up for the value of music more broadly, as she did when she declined to release her 1989 album on Spotify, pushed Apple Music to pay rightsholders for plays during the service’s free trial period and insisted that Universal pay artists their share of the proceeds from its Spotify stock sales whether their deals had recouped or not. “This is not about me,” she wrote about the Apple situation at the time, but rather about emerging artists. What happens to them now? It has even been suggested that Swift essentially crossed a picket line of sorts.

That’s a bit much. The concept of a picket line implies a situation in which people who are paid on a scale are bargaining collectively, and that’s not the case here. And it’s not Swift’s responsibility to fight for the overall health of the music business — she’s an artist and she’s already done far more than most. For that matter, there’s more to creators’ rights than the size of a check. If you think about the way Swift re-recorded her old albums, she may place as much value on control — not only how much she makes on an album, but who owns it, how they present it, and where and under what circumstances it can be heard. I’m not sure whether her decision about making her music available on TikTok is the right one, but I am completely positive that it’s not mine to make.

This is all based on the assumption that Swift’s agreement with TikTok is vaguely similar to the one labels have, but that may not be the case. If you think about Swift’s instinct for navigating the music business, her deal could be much better — perhaps with an advance or guaranteed minimum or other kinds of considerations. (Just to be clear, I have no idea.) If you were, or managed, an artist with that kind of market share, what would you ask for? And if you worked for TikTok, facing political pressure in the U.S., as well as a difficult negotiation with the biggest music company in the world, how much would you be willing to offer?

In the modern media business, market share doesn’t just create efficiency — it also offers important negotiating leverage, especially with technology companies that operate on a global scale. That’s why music and film companies are buying rivals, getting deeper into the distribution business, and pursuing growth so aggressively in the first place. Swift may be the only artist there is who can offer real scale by herself, built on recordings she owns herself, so labels don’t need to worry about this becoming a trend. But whatever Swift’s decision means for the industry at large, it seems somewhat inevitable that she would pursue, and at some point use, the power her market share gives her — just as the major labels do.

Record Store Day 2024: 10 Exclusives Worth Digging For

This year’s event takes place April 20, and features releases from Olivia Rodrigo to The Beatles and beyond.

This year’s Record Store Day — which happens April 20 — boasts approximately 387 different titles that will be made available at participating shops nationwide. And the numbers show there’s a voracious public hungry for physical product, further cementing the importance of owning the music you spend your good money on, as opposed to merely streaming it on a DSP.

According to Luminate, the music industry sold 49.61 million units of vinyl in 2023, an increase of 14.2 percent from the previous year. And here’s the kicker, it was the largest 12-month period for such sales since the Los Angeles-based analytic company began tracking retail data for music back in 1991. And not just for wax, but CDs as well, given the modest increase in sales that format has experienced in recent years.

So what to buy this year? Perusing through the RSD list of the upcoming titles that will be available to varying degrees of scarcity, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the staggering amount of choice available for this year’s music-geek shoppers’ holiday. But fear not, as Billboard has reviewed, researched and revisited a slew of the titles slated for Record Store Day 2024 in an effort to bring you a comprehensive compendium of picks well worth your time and legal tender.

We’re not only talking strictly vinyl here, either, as electronics and, yes, those old compact discs are also fair game this year.

Here’s a list of what we think are most worth the trouble of leaving your home to wait in a long line in hopes the person ahead of you doesn’t snag the last copy of what you’re looking for.

Ye Reportedly a Suspect in Battery of Man in LA After Wife’s Alleged Sexual Assault

Ye has been named as a suspect in a battery case in Los Angeles, according to multiple reports.

TMZ first reported Wednesday night (April 17) that the rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, is being accused of punching another man in the face after he allegedly “grabbed” Ye’s wife, Bianca Censori. According to TMZ, West allegedly responded by striking the man.

Yeezy’s chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos claimed in a statement to FOX 11 that Censori was “physically assaulted” and “sexually assaulted” by the man accusing West.

“‘Grabbed’ is grossly inadequate as a description of what happened. Bianca was physically assaulted,” Yiannopoulos said. “The assailant didn’t merely collide into her. He put his hands under her dress, directly on her body, he grabbed her waist, he spun her around and then he blew her kisses. She was battered and sexually assaulted.”

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Yeezy and his wife reportedly left the scene of the alleged altercation before the police arrived. The victim did not need treatment for his injuries suffered, according to TMZ.

LAPD officer Drake Madison confirmed to Billboard that officers arrived at a hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood on April 17 around 12:30 a.m. PT for a battery investigation and that a battery report was then completed. However, Madison did not confirm whether Ye is a suspect. As of press time, no charges have been levied against Ye.

Billboard has reached out to West’s reps for further comment.

FOX 11‘s Matthew Seedorff shared on X that he saw detectives investigating outside a Los Angeles hotel possibly tied to the alleged altercation.

Last year, the rapper was sued by a paparazzo over a phone-throwing incident. Photographer Nichol Lechmanik filed a lawsuit against West for assault, battery, negligence and interference with the exercise of her civil rights following the alleged altercation. She claims in her complaint that on Jan. 27, 2023, the musician threw her phone into traffic outside Sports Academy in Newbury Park, Calif.

On the music side, West is coming off the release of his Billboard 200-topping Vultures album alongside Ty Dolla $ign in February. The Vultures 2 sequel is rumored to be released in May.

Halsey Gets Flirty With Boyfriend Avan Jogia for About-Face Campaign Video

Halsey is dropping some new color-shifting makeup products in her About-Face beauty line, and the “Without Me” singer promoted her “Earth Angel” campaign for the company with a fittingly trippy new ad video.

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In the clip, the 29-year-old singer is seen running around a convenience store in a pink wig, before coming face to face with her boyfriend Avan Jogia. The duo lock eyes, before delving into an intimate, flirty evening together. The scene then cuts to a cup overflowing at the slushie machine. The new products are set to launch on April 21, according to the video caption.

See the post here.

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Earlier this month, Halsey and Jogia made their red carpet debut at the premiere of Dev Patel’s Monkey Man. In October, Halsey and Jogia made their relationship Instagram official, with the “Closer” star sharing snaps with the actor showing off their glamorous, leathery looks. Later that month, they celebrated Halloween as a couple, with the singer going as a sea monstress and the Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star dressing up as a sailor.

Prior to dating Jogia, Halsey split from her estranged husband Alev Aydin — with whom she shares a young son named Ender — in April 2023. Jogia was previously linked to Australian actress Cleopatra Coleman.

Billboard Explains: Taylor Swift’s Record-Breaking Chart History

Taylor Swift is one of the most acclaimed artists in Billboard‘s history, and we’re celebrating the April 19 release of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, by strolling down charts memory lane.

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The 33-year-old superstar kicked off her charts journey back in 2006 when her debut single, “Tim McGraw,” arrived on the country charts and peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. Swift’s career kicked into high gear with the release of her 2008 album, Fearless. The title track peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100, and “You Belong With Me” made its way up to No. 2.

Overall, Swift has 11 Hot 100 chart-toppers under her belt, tying her with Whitney Houston as the fourth most among women in chart history. She has 232 songs on the Hot 100 in total, more than any other female artist and only second to Drake overall. Swift is also the only woman to replace herself on the Hot 100 — and she’s done it three times.

Watch Billboard Explains: Taylor Swift’s Record-Breaking Chart History in the video above.

After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boomthe role record labels playorigins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groupsBBMAsNFTsSXSW, the magic of boy bandsAmerican Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 charthow R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S.how festivals book their lineupsBillie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battlesnonbinary awareness in musicthe Billboard Music Awardsthe Free Britney movementrise of K-pop in the U.S.why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albumsthe boom of hit all-female collaborationshow Grammy nominees and winners are chosenwhy songwriters are selling their publishing catalogshow the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.