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20 Mar 2024

Slayyyter Lip Synched to Unreleased Lady Gaga Song ‘Brooklyn Nights’ and Mother Monster Loved It

While Lady Gaga has never released the song “Brooklyn Nights,” the ARTPOP-era cast-off has become a Little Monster favorite. Look no further than a TikTok from Slayyyter in which the “Miss Belladonna” singer lip synchs along to what she dubs “the greatest bridge from the greatest unreleased song of all time I think…”

In the 20-second video, Slayyyter — dressed in a yellow t-shirt and black motorcycle jacket — reclines as she mouths along to the lyrics, “I found an old pair of keys in my purse/ That opened the walkup we shared/ How did they get there, jerk?/ I wanna see you there/ I wanna make it work.” Touching her golden locks, Slayyyter continues, “I didn’t brush my hair/ And my lashes are falling/ Off of seven…”

The video elicited some predictably revved-up comments, none more excitable than the one from Mother Monster herself, who wrote, “[crying face emoji] love this.” Uber-fan Slayyyter, as you might imagine, was blown away by the nice words from Gaga, tweeting, “imshaking tnrjekjfnd.”

Trending on Billboard

Slayyyter wasn’t the only one losing their mind over the acknowledgement. Among the other cranked-to-11 responses on the original TikTok were: “OMG GAGA JUST ACKNOWLEDGED ‘BROOKLYN NIGHTS’ WE WON,” “OH MOTHER YOU HAVE TO REMIX THIS,” “OMGGGG SLAYYYTER IS A ‘BROOKLYN NIGHTS’ STAN” and “I mean a Lady Gaga x Slayyyter collaboration would send the dance pop girls to another dimension.”

Billboard reported in 2013 that during an impromptu Twitter Q&A with fans Gaga teased a potential sequel to her ARTPOP album, writing, “Yes, lots of songs for ACT TWO!” At the time, Gaga said a finished version of “Brooklyn Nights” was slated for release as a bonus track from ARTPOP, promising that it would come out “on the app sometimes during the album cycle.”

When the singer’s third full-length studio album was released in Nov. 2013, however, the song did not make the cut and the previously hinted-at plans to include it on an accompanying multi-media app did not come to fruition.

Gaga has not announced released a new album of solo material since 2020’s Chromatica, though a post from February featuring images of her in the studio clarified that she is “not” making a rock album.

Check out Slayyyter’s reaction tweet below.

20 Mar 2024

Quoting Taylor Swift, Court Rejects Metallica’s Insurance Lawsuit Over COVID-Cancelled Concerts

In an unusual ruling that quoted from Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” a California appeals court has rejected Metallica’s lawsuit demanding that its insurance company pay for more than $3 million in losses stemming from concerts that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision, issued Monday (March 18) by California’s Court of Appeal, said that six COVID-cancelled 2020 shows in South America were not covered by Metallica’s insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London, thanks to a clear exclusion in the contract for any losses stemming from “communicable diseases.”

The legendary rock band had argued the case should have gone to trial, since a jury could have decided that non-COVID reasons led to the cancellations. But Justice Maria Stratton, improbably citing Swift, said it was “absurd to think that government closures were not the result of Covid-19.”

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“To paraphrase Taylor Swift: ‘We were there. We remember it all too well,’” the justice wrote. “There was no vaccine against Covid-19 in March 2020 and no drugs to treat it. Ventilators were in short supply. N-95 masks were all but non-existent. Patients were being treated in tents in hospital parking lots. The mortality rate of Covid-19 was unknown, but to give just one example of the potential fatality rate, by late March, 2020, New York City was using refrigerated trucks as temporary morgues. People were terrified.”

Metallica’s case is one of many that have been filed by musicians, venues, bars and other businesses seeking insurance coverage for harm caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, which led to months of severe travel restrictions, forced closures and bans on large gatherings.

But like Metallica’s case, the majority of those lawsuits have thus far been won by insurers. Many policies included express carveouts for problems caused by diseases, like the one in the band’s contract; other policies, like many for brick-and-mortar businesses, often required “physical damage” that’s tricky to show with a pandemic shutdown.

The biggest such case in the music industry is a sweeping lawsuit filed by Live Nation, seeking coverage from Factory Mutual Insurance Co. for more than 10,000 shows (encompassing a whopping 15 million tickets) that were canceled or postponed during the pandemic. After a judge refused to dismiss Live Nation’s allegations in 2022, the case remains pending.

Metallica sued Lloyd’s of London in June 2021 after the insurer refused to cover their losses stemming from the South American tour, which had been set to kick off on April 15, 2020, but was postponed when the governments of Argentina, Chile and Brazil imposed strict restrictions amid the worsening pandemic.

Court documents show that in May 2020, the band submitted a loss of $3,234,569 stemming from the cancelled shows, covering things like $184,996 in payroll for retained crew members. But citing the disease exclusion, the insurer quickly denied the claim: “Unfortunately we have to advise that no coverage is afforded for this matter under this Policy,” the company wrote in a June 2020 response letter.

In December 2022, a Los Angeles judge rejected Metallica’s case and the various arguments for why Lloyds should have paid for the concerts — including ruling that the cancellations were caused by travel restrictions that were “a direct response to the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic.”

Appealing that decision, Metallica argued that a jury might have found a different cause for the concert cancellations. The band’s attorneys pointed to the fact that venues later reopened and the shows were performed in 2022, “despite the ongoing presence of COVID.”

But in her ruling Monday, Justice Stratton said that argument missed the mark. With the advent of vaccines and more information, “much had changed” by the spring of 2022.

“People were in a position to make a more accurate cost-benefit analysis of restrictions versus potential illness,” the justice wrote. “The fact that governments chose to lift restrictions at that point, two years after COVID-19 was first discovered, does not in any way call into question their reasons for imposing travel restrictions early in the pandemic.”

The judge also rejected various other arguments from Metallica, like the claim that the policy did not cover COVID cancellations because it did not specifically use the term “virus”: “The insurance policy definition of communicable disease does not refer to any pathogens nor does it limit the exclusion to only those communicable diseases caused by specific pathogens.”

Attorneys for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment.

20 Mar 2024

Killer Mike, Mitski, Caroline Polachek Among Top Nominees for 2024 Libera Awards

Killer Mike, Caroline Polachek, Mitski, L’Rain and Wednesday are among the artists who received multiple nominations for the 2024 Libera Awards. The 13th annual ceremony will take place on Monday, June 10 at historic Gotham Hall in New York City.

The Libera Awards are presented by A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music) across 36 categories honoring the best in independent music. This year’s announcement features three new categories: best record from games and interactive media, publisher of the year and distributor of the year.

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Partisan Records has the most nominations of any record label with five. Other labels with multiple nominations include Dead Oceans, Domino Recording Company, Matador Records, Sub Pop Records and Light in the Attic.

“Huge congratulations to all our talented and accomplished nominees for the 13th annual A2IM Libera Award,” Dr. Richard James Burgess, president/CEO of A2IM, said in a statement. “The A2IM Libera Awards is the world’s largest award show for the diverse universe of independent music and this year’s event will be the biggest and best to date.”

This year, the Libera Awards will honor Louis Posen, founder of Hopeless Records, with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his leadership in the independent sector.

The Libera Awards will kick off A2IM’s annual Indie Week conference, which will begin the following morning, Tuesday, June 11, and run through Thursday, June 13 at the InterContinental New York Times Square.

A2IM is a not-for-profit trade association that represents independent music recording owners. Tickets for the awards ceremony start at $299 for a balcony seat and are on sale here.

Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2024 Libera Awards:

Record of the Year

L’Rain – I Killed Your Dog (Mexican Summer)

Killer Mike – MICHAEL (Loma Vista Recordings)

Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (Dead Oceans)

Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (Perpetual Novice)

Wednesday – Rat Saw God (Dead Oceans)

Label of the Year (15 or more employees)

Dead Oceans

Domino Recording Company

Hopeless Records

Matador Records

Merge Records

Partisan Records

Sub Pop Records

Third Man Records

Label of the Year (5 or fewer employees)

Bastard Jazz Recordings

Bayonet Records

FADER Label

Innovative Leisure

Oh Boy Records

Topshelf Records

True Panther

Label of the Year (6-14 employees)

Captured Tracks

City Slang

Lex Records

Light in the Attic

Mack Avenue Music Group

Photo Finish Records

Saddle Creek

Distributor of the Year

FUGA

Light in the Attic

The Orchard

Redeye Worldwide

Secretly Distribution

Symphonic Distribution

Virgin Music Group

Publisher of the Year

Arts & Crafts Music

Domino Publishing Company

Reservoir Media

Rimas Publishing

Secretly Publishing

Sub Pop Publishing

Warp Publishing

Independent Champion presented by Merlin

Bandcamp

Downtown Music Holdings

Infinite Catalog

Light in the Attic

Peanut Butter Wolf

Jorge Brea

Thirty Tigers

Breakthrough Artist/Release presented by Virgin Music Group

BAMBII (Innovative Leisure)

bar italia (Matador Records)

Blondshell – Blondshell (Partisan Records)

Indigo De Souza – All of This Will End (Saddle Creek)

Say She She – Silver (Colemine Records)

Slow Pulp (ANTI)

Wednesday (Dead Oceans)

Music Video of the Year

Black Pumas – “More Than a Love Song” (ATO Records)

Blondshell – “Salad” (Partisan Records)

Indigo De Souza – “Younger & Dumber” (Saddle Creek)

Geese – “Cowboy Nudes” (Partisan Records)

IDLES – “Dancer” (Partisan Records)

Arlo Parks – “Blades” (Transgressive)

Shygirl – “Heaven (feat. Tinashe)” (Because Music)

Best Alternative Rock Record

Courtney Barnett – End of the Day (Mom+Pop)

Geese – 3D Country (Partisan Records)

Hotline TNT – Cartwheel (Third Man Records)

Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (Dead Oceans)

Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (Perpetual Novice)

Wednesday – Rat Saw God (Dead Oceans)

Best American Roots Record

Charley Crockett – The Man From Waco Redux (Son Of Davy/Thirty Tigers)

Madi Diaz – “Don’t Do Me Good” (feat. Kacey Musgraves) (ANTI)

MJ Lenderman – “Rudolph” (ANTI)

Hiss Golden Messenger – Jump for Joy (Merge Records)

Esther Rose – Safe to Run (New West Records)

Allison Russell – The Returner (Fantasy Records)

Best Blues Record

The Count Basie Orchestra – Basie Swings the Blues (Candid Records)

Robert Finley – Black Bayou (Easy Eye Sound)

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – Live in London (Alligator Records)

Bettye LaVette – LaVette! (Jay-Vee Records/MRI)

Various Artists – Tell Everybody! (21st Century Juke Joint Blues From Easy Eye Sound) (Easy Eye Sound)

Nick Waterhouse – The Fooler (Innovative Leisure)

Best Classical Record

Chick Corea & Orchestra da Camera della Sardegna – Sardinia (Candid Records)

Doeke – Bewondering (Nettwerk Music Group)

Lara Downes – Love at Last (Pentatone)

Erik Hall – Canto Ostinato (Western Vinyl)

Hauschka – Philanthropy (City Slang)

Will Liverman – The Dunbar/Moore Sessions: Vol. I (Lexicon Classics)

Kelly Moran – Vesela (Warp Records)

Chick Corea & Orchestra da Camera della Sardegna – “Mozart Concerto No. 24 C Minor, K.491: II Larghetto” (Candid Records)

Best Country Record

Mya Byrne – Rhinestone Tomboy (Kill Rock Stars)

Colbie Caillat – Along the Way (Blue Jean Baby Records/Downtown Artist & Label Services)

The Pink Stones – You Know Who (Normaltown Records)

Margo Price – Strays (Loma Vista Recordings)

Tanya Tucker – Sweet Western Sound (Fantasy Records)

Turnpike Troubadours – A Cat in The Rain (Bossier City Records/Thirty Tigers)

Best Dance Record

Aluna – MYCELiUM (Mad Decent)

Braxe + Falcon – Step by Step (Remixes) (Smugglers Way/Domino Recording Company)

Jayda G – Guy (Ninja Tune)

LP Giobbi – Light Places (Counter Records/Ninja Tune)

Peggy Gou – “(It Goes Like) Nanana” (XL Recordings)

Hudson Mohawke & Nikki Nair – Set the Roof (Warp Records)

Romy – Mid Air (Young)

Best Electronic Record

Floating Points – “Birth4000” (Ninja Tune)

Sofia Kourtesis – Madres (Ninja Tune)

Little Dragon – Slugs of Love (Ninja Tune)

ODESZA, Yellow House – Flaws in Our Design (Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune)

Overmono – Good Lies (XL Recordings)

DJ Shadow – Action Adventure (Mass Appeal)

Yaeji – With a Hammer (XL Recordings)

Best Folk Record

Julie Byrne – The Greater Wings (Ghostly International)

Laura Jane Grace – “Dysphoria Hoodie” (Polyvinyl Record Co.)

Kara Jackson – Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? (September Recordings)

Aoife O’Donovan – Age of Apathy Solo Sessions (Yep Roc Records)

Andy Shauf – Norm (ANTI)

Sufjan Stevens – Javelin (Asthmatic Kitty Records)

Sunny War – Anarchist Gospel (New West Records)

Best Global Record presented by Redeye Worldwide

Altin Gün – Ask (ATO Records)

Asake – Work of Art (YBNL Nation / EMPIRE)

Bombino – Sahel (Partisan Records)

Pachyman – Switched-On (ATO Records)

Sampa the Great – As Above, So Below (Deluxe) (Loma Vista Recordings)

WITCH – Zango (Desert Daze Sound)

Best Heavy Record

Beartooth – The Surface (Red Bull Records)

The Callous Daoboys – God Smiles Upon the Callous Daoboys (MNRK Music Group)

From Ashes to New – Blackout (Better Noise Music)

Fucked Up – One Day (Merge Records)

Model/Actriz – Dogsbody (True Panther)

Soul Glo – “If I Speak (Shut the Fuck Up)” (Epitaph)

Zulu – A New Tomorrow (Flatspot Records)

Best Hip-Hop/Rap Record

Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

Atmosphere – So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

Danny Brown – Quaranta (Warp Records)

Conway The Machine – WON’T HE DO IT (Drumwork Music Group LLC/EMPIRE)

McKinley Dixon – Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (City Slang)

Kari Faux – REAL B*TCHES DON’T DIE! (drink sum wtr)

Killer Mike – MICHAEL (Loma Vista Recordings)

billy woods, Kenny Segal – Maps (Backwoodz Studios/Fat Possum Records)

Best Jazz Record

Joey Alexander – Continuance (Mack Avenue Music Group)

Louis Cole – Some Unused Songs (Brainfeeder)

Sam Gendel & Marcella Cytrynowicz – AUDIOBOOK (Psychic Hotline)

Robert Glasper – In December (Loma Vista Recordings)

John Carroll Kirby – Blowout (Stones Throw Records)

Christian McBride’s New Jawn – Prime (Mack Avenue Music Group)

Best Latin Record

El Búho – Strata (Wonderwheel Recordings)

Bebel Gilberto – João ([PIAS])

Helado Negro – “LFO (Lupe Finds Oliveros)” (4AD)

Carla Morrison – “Todo Fue Por Amor (de la película “Con Esta Luz”)” (Cosmica Artists)

Pahua – Habita (Nacional Records)

Tagua Tagua – Tanto (Wonderwheel Recordings)

Best Outlier Record

Anjimile – The King (4AD)

ANOHNI – My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross (Secretly Canadian)

Khruangbin – Live at Sydney Opera House (Dead Oceans)

L’Rain – I Killed Your Dog (Mexican Summer)

Tirzah – trip9love…??? (Domino Recording Company)

yeule – softscars (Ninja Tune)

Best Pop Record

Belle and Sebastian – Late Developers (Matador Records)

CHAI – CHAI (Sub Pop Records)

Becca Mancari – Left Hand (Captured Tracks)

Samia – Honey (Grand Jury Music)

Suki Waterhouse – “To Love” (Sub Pop Records)

Best Punk Record

CIVIC – Taken by Force (ATO Records)

Mannequin Pussy – “I Got Heaven” (Epitaph)

Neck Deep – “Take Me With You” (Hopeless Records)

Scowl – Psychic Dance Routine (Flatspot Records)

Snõõper – Super Snõõper (Third Man Records)

Soul Glo – “If I Speak (Shut the Fuck Up)” (Epitaph)

Best R&B Record

Emily King – Special Occasion (ATO Records)

Sampha – Lahai (Young)

Emeli Sandé – How Were We to Know (Chrysalis Records)

Jorja Smith – falling or flying (FAMM Limited (Jorja Smith))

Cleo Sol – Gold (Forever Living Originals / TuneCore)

Jamila Woods – Water Made Us (Jagjaguwar)

Best Record From Games and Interactive Media

Jon Everist – The Lamplighters League (Original Soundtrack) (Lakeshore Records)

HEALTH – “HATEFUL” (Loma Vista Recordings)

Mr. Sauceman, ClascyJitto, Post Elvis – Pizza Tower (Materia Collective)

Matt Creamer, Retroware, Professor Shyguy ft. Nur-D – Prison City Original Soundtrack (Screenwave Media)

Best Reissue

Cymande – Cymande (Partisan Records)

De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising (AOI Records)

The Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (Expanded and Remastered) (Third Man Records)

Jerry Garcia – Might as Well: A Round Records Retrospective (Round Records)

Jason Isbell – Southeastern (Southeastern Records / Thirty Tigers)

Neutral Milk Hotel – The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel (Merge Records)

Best Remix

Sudan Archives, ODESZA – “Selfish Soul (ODESZA Remix)” (Stones Throw Records)

Christine and the Queens – “To Be Honest” (SG Lewis Remix) (Because Music)

John Summit, deadmau5, Kaskade – “I Remember” (John Summit Remix) (mau5trap)

Jerry Garcia & LP Giobbi – Garcia (Remixed) (Round Records)

Margo Price – “Change of Heart” (feat. Sierra Ferrell) (Loma Vista Recordings)

Best Rock Record

Be Your Own Pet – Mommy (Third Man Records)

Blondshell – Blondshell (Partisan Records)

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes (Southeastern Records)

Manchester Orchestra – The Valley of Vision (Loma Vista Recordings)

The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein (4AD)

Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman… (Matador Records)

Ratboys – The Window (Topshelf Records)

Best Short-Form Video

Blondshell – “Kiss City” Reel (Partisan Records)

De La Soul – Tribute to Dave (AOI Records)

IDLES – “Grace” Teaser (Partisan Records)

John Carroll Kirby – “Oropendola” (Stones Throw Records)

Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (Dead Oceans)

Best Singer-Songwriter Record

Indigo De Souza – All of This Will End (Saddle Creek)

Madi Diaz – “Same Risk” (ANTI)

Angel Olsen – Forever Means (Jagjaguwar)

Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental (Mexican Summer)

Jenny Owen Youngs – Avalanche (Yep Roc Records)

Best Soul/Funk Record

Betty Davis – Crashin’ From Passion (Light in the Attic)

Black Pumas – Chronicles of a Diamond (ATO Records)

Robert Finley – Black Bayou (Easy Eye Sound)

Neal Francis – Francis Comes Alive (ATO Records)

Say She She – Silver (Colemine Records)

Best Spiritual Record

Blind Boys of Alabama – Echoes of the South (Single Lock Records)

Lecrae, Tasha Cobbs Leonard – “Your Power” (Reach Records)

Katy Nichole – Jesus Changed My Life (Centricity Music)

J Rocc – Beatitudes (Stones Throw Records)

Lori Vambe – Space-Time Dreamtime (STRUT)

Best Sync Usage

Cat Power – Cover of Rihanna’s “Stay” in A24’s Past Lives trailer (Domino Recording Company)

Brittany Howard ft. Childish Gambino – “Stay High” in You People (ATO Records)

Refused – “New Noise” in The Bear (Season 2) (Epitaph)

Sharon Van Etten – “Anything” in Priscilla trailer (Jagjaguwar)

Nilüfer Yanya – “Midnight Sun” in The Boogeyman (ATO Records)

Creative Packaging

Aphex Twin – Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 (Warp Records)

De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising (AOI Records)

Jerry Garcia – Heads and Tails: Vol. 1 (Round Records)

Neutral Milk Hotel – The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel (Merge Records)

John Prine – The Oh Boy Singles Box Set (Oh Boy Records)

Various Artists – Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 8 (Sub Pop Records)

Marketing Genius

Blonde Redhead – Sit Down for Dinner (section1)

Blondshell – Blondshell (Partisan Records)

De La Soul – De La Soul Catalog Release (AOI Records)

Peggy Gou – “(It Goes Like) Nanana” (XL Recordings)

Killer Mike – MICHAEL (Loma Vista Recordings)

Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (Dead Oceans)

Self-Released Record of the Year

Laurel Halo – Atlas (Awe)

L’Queer – “Fuck Ron DeSantis” (L’Queer)

Michigander – It Will Never Be the Same (C3 Records)

Paris Texas – MID AIR (Paris Texas LLC)

Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (Perpetual Novice)

Tenacious D – “Video Games” (Tenacious D)

20 Mar 2024

SONGS Foundation Sets New Board of Directors

The National Music Publishers’ Association’s SONGS foundation has announced its latest board of directors, including both songwriters and publishing executives.

The SONGS (Supporting Our Next Generation of Songwriters) Foundation was founded by the publishing trade organization in 2015 as a way to support aspiring songwriters, offering scholarships and direct financial assistance to help kickstart their careers in addition to other partnerships. With the new board, the foundation announces that it will be centering its focus in the coming year on helping songwriters with mental health, wellness and financial advisory services.

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Artist and songwriter Jewel will be returning to the board this year. She will be joined by fellow songwriters and new members Justin Paul and Benj Pasek (Kobalt), Dan Wilson (UMPG), Lauren Christy (Reservoir), Allison Russell (Concord), Jordan Reynolds (Warner Chappell), Gaby Moreno (peermusic) and CAM (Sony Music Publishing).

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The executives joining the board include some of the biggest names in the publishing business, some of which are already part of the NMPA‘s board of directors. Those include Sony Music Publishing chairman/CEO Jon Platt, Warner Chappell Music co-chair/COO Carianne Marshall, Reservoir founder/CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi, peermusic president/COO Kathy Spanberger, BMG executive vp/general counsel Keith Hauprich, Concord chief publishing officer Jim Selby, Kobalt head of creative Alison Donald, and Universal Music Publishing Group executive vp/co-head of A&R Jennifer Knoepfle. The NMPA’s leadership team of president/CEO David Israelite, executive vp/general counsel Danielle Aguirre and senior vp of external affairs Charlotte Sellmyer will retain their seats on the board.

“We are thrilled to bring together this level of talent, experience and insight onto one board for the sole purpose of helping songwriters,” said Israelite, who is also the president of the SONGS Foundation, in a statement. “The foundation has achieved a great deal, but there is so much more we can and will do for creators with the guidance of this unparalleled group.” 

The board will officially launch during its annual fundraising golf tournament in Los Angeles on April 15.

20 Mar 2024

Cardi B Addresses Rumored $80 Million Net Worth: ‘I Make a Lot of Money’

Cardi B has always been about her dollars long before releasing her financially friendly 2018 single “Money.”

The Bronx native recently sat down with Complex‘s Speedy Morman, who asked about Cardi’s rumored $80 million net worth, which she believes is long in her rear view, as the 31-year-old has entered a new tax bracket.

“I feel like I actually passed almost doing $80 million,” she admitted. “I make a lot of money. I make a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of money.”

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Cardi B also made sure to explain that the checks aren’t only fattening her pockets, as she takes care of the financial woes of many friends and family around her.

“But also, I got a lot, a lot of bills,” she added. “I’m taking care of [family]. I’m helping a lot. I’m not going to say I take care, I’m helping a lot, and I help a lot of my friends and I help a lot of my family and everything.”

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The “WAP” rapper admitted it’s tough to tell her family no when she’s buying plenty of designer garments and luxury items.

“I gotta say no and I’m buying Birkins,” she said. “I don’t like it when I feel like they playing with me … I remember when I was broke, I was never outside. I just seen you buy some designers. Even when I was a stripper and I had some times that I struggled, I was not buying that s–t.”

Cardi will look to keep securing bags in 2024 as she’s staying busy on the music side and promising her long-awaited sophomore album. She heated up the stove with a pair of singles to kick off the year with “Like What (Freestyle),” which debuted inside the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40, and “Enough (Miami),” which arrived on Friday (March 15).

“I took a little break, I came back on social media. I dropped a little freestyle and everything, y’know, just to wet my feet. A week later, I’m dropping this single, and the next announcement is not going to be a single, it’s gonna be an album,” she told Billboard Canada. “I’m back outside, I’m tired of s–t holding me back. It’s been six years since l’ve dropped an album, so I’m gonna drop an album this year.”

Watch the interview below. Talk of Cardi’s net worth starts around 30:55.

20 Mar 2024

NewJeans on Learning About the Industry, Importance of Friendship, Trusting Your Gut & More | Billboard Women In Music 2024 

Group of the Year NewJeans opens up about being new to the industry, the importance of friendship, trusting your gut and more backstage at Billboard Women In Music 2024.

NewJeans:
Some advice that I would give to women in the industry, well, actually, we’re, like, very new to the industry too, so we’re still learning. And I would just like to say that believe in yourself. Trust your gut feeling and don’t get hurt because that would be very sad. Yes.

And also, I think it’s a very, very important thing to have friends like my members around you. I think without them, it wouldn’t be this much fun and you know, exciting. So having good friends around you, I think would be a really important factor.

Watch the full video above!

20 Mar 2024

For King + Country Talk ‘Checking In’ to Country With an Assist From Lee Brice

When Kellie Pickler’s husband, producer-songwriter Kyle Jacobs (“More Than a Memory,” “Rumor”), died in February 2023, Kyle’s longtime collaborator, Lee Brice, hurt — not only for his own loss and for Pickler, but also for Kyle’s father.

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“Every morning at five o’clock — every single morning — Kyle called his daddy,” Brice remembers. “And so a big part for me when Kyle passed was I was just thinking about his daddy, going, ‘What is his daddy going to do every morning at five o’clock?’ ”

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Brice thought about Kyle often when he came across “Checking In,” a newly released collaboration with contemporary Christian duo for King + Country. The recording appears on a forthcoming movie-related album, Unsung Hero: The Inspired By Soundtrack, due April 26. “Checking In” captures the regret of a son longing for a conversation with his late father. And while neither Brice nor the for King + Country brothers — Luke and Joel Smallbone — have had that experience, the threat of it hits deep.

“Every single time I listen to it, I call my mom and daddy,” Brice says.

It’s a good sign that “Checking In” is working.

Things weren’t working all that well when Michael Farren, Garrett Jacobs and Ken Hart wrote it on Oct. 15, 2022, at Farren’s Curb | Word office in Nashville. Farren was feeling under the weather — so much so that he almost canceled the appointment. The three writers spent two hours kicking around ideas but came up empty. Finally, Garrett proffered “Checking In,” a title inspired by his own father.

“Anytime my dad calls me, he always ends the call with, ‘Just checking in to see how you were doing,’ ” Garrett recalls, “so I wrote that down in my notes.”

When he brought up the title, Farren related well to the scenario. His father often leaves messages with the same “just checking in” verbiage, and he started reciting one of them with a melody attached to it. 

“I’m a stream-of-consciousness writer, so I spit out the first verse and chorus in one pass,” he says. “It was just because it was so real to what I hear my dad say all the time. I have so many of those voice messages saved.”

But it wasn’t an exact replication. The story flipped at the chorus as the stanza’s opening line, “I don’t know many times I’ve let that message play,” is the first time the listener realizes the opening verse isn’t a current conversation, but a recording. And as the chorus ends, it’s clear that the singer is playing it because it’s the only way he has left to check in with his dad. 

The father/son emotions in that topic were strong, but they were particularly hard for Hart, whose relationship with his dad is decidedly strained. He felt like bolting.

“I was kind of not wanting to participate because of the subject matter,” Hart says, “but Michael knows me well enough. And he’s one of the few people that has permission to call me out when I need to be called out. He’s got this look that he gives me that says, ‘OK, dude. Get your head out of your butt. It’s time to participate.’”

Hart did stick around, and they were able to process the song — and its difficult emotions — in short order. “It probably took less than 45 minutes to get it done,” he remembers.

They finished the chorus with the protagonist noting that he even calls his dad back sometimes when he listens to the message. From there, verse two pretty much dictated itself. “The obvious next step,” Farren notes, “was ‘What would I say [to] that voicemail that he’s never going to hear?’ ‘I’m doing all right, work’s been a little hard, but you know, the kids are good. You’d be proud.’ It was just that conversational.”

As they worked through the rest of it, they decided a bridge was unnecessary — they had said everything they needed to — so they left a four-bar spot for an instrumental after the second chorus, “just to let the song sit and breathe,” Garrett says. They played the chorus a third time to finish the song.

Farren played it publicly for the first time that night at The Listening Room in Nashville. After the show, his wife confirmed what he had felt from the stage: “There were a lot of grown-up men crying.”

The next morning, Farren performed “Checking In” with acoustic guitar on a TikTok, and by the next morning, he had gotten over 300,000 views. (To date, the video has amassed more than 452,000). “That kind of got people’s attention a little bit, to be like, ‘The song might be special,’” Garrett suggests.

Farren had Curb vp of country and creative Colt Murski send the link to Brice; in less than 10 minutes, Brice put it on hold. Months later, Luke Smallbone saw the same TikTok. While for King + Country isn’t a country act, “Checking In” moved him, and with the Unsung Hero movie in production, he thought the act could pull it off for the Inspired By Soundtrack. He mentioned it to the duo’s producer, Ben Glover (Chris Tomlin, Anne Wilson), who also produces Brice. The artists decided to collaborate, a development Glover had not expected from the Smallbone brothers. 

“The one thing that I never would have thought was that they would do anything country because that’s just not their wheelhouse,” Glover explains. “They’re not trying to turn country — that’s not their thing at all. I think it was more like, ‘We want to do it because we really like the song.’ ”

The brothers let Glover produce it without their input. “I had called Glover and kind of given him my vision for the song, but it still was essentially country,” Smallbone says. “He was like, ‘Hey, man, I’m just going to go do this. If you guys want to come by, you can, but I know exactly what I need to do.’”

Glover got drummer Aaron Sterling and guitarists Todd Lombardo and Nathan Dugger to add their tracks individually over a piano guide. Glover eventually muted the keyboard but played the additional instruments, with the arrangement building slowly as the song progresses. “The mark of a great song is how easy it is to produce, I would say 85% of the time,” Glover notes. “It kind of tells you where to go.”

Brice did his vocal first, with Kyle’s memory informing his emotional performance. Though it’s a for King + Country recording with Brice the featured artist, Smallbone took the second verse and let Brice provide the song’s first voice, appropriate for a country production. The siblings found a two-part harmony moment, then supported Brice with three-part harmony on the third chorus, creating a sort of communal gathering of the principals for the finale.

“That song has messed me up in some cases, in a good way, because every time I talk to my dad, I’m aware,” Smallbone says. “He’s 74. He could have another 20 years or he could have another day. You just don’t know.”

That reality makes “Checking In” an emotional experience for many listeners, whether they’ve lost their father or just wonder when they will. Given that universal potential, Curb released it to country stations in secondary markets on Feb. 16. The creatives are less concerned about the audience numbers the song generates than the impact that it might have on those who do hear it and take its message to heart.

“You never know,” Brice says, “when it’s going to be too late.” 

20 Mar 2024

Muni Long’s ‘Made for Me’ Jumps to No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart

Muni Long’s viral hit “Made for Me” solidifies its status as a radio winner by crowning Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart dated March 23. The song moves from No. 3 after a 20% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored R&B/hip-hop radio stations in the tracking week of March 8-14, according to Luminate.

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With “Made for Me,” Muni Long captures her first No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. She previously came close to the summit; her breakthrough track “Hrs and Hrs” peaked at No. 2 for four weeks in April 2022.

“Made for Me” first came to chart highs on the Adult R&B Airplay list, where it reached a runner-up peak last December. Soon after, the song went viral on TikTok thanks to clips centering around the track’s “Twin, where have you been?” lyric. The viral activity pushed the track to No. 2 on the weekly TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart in February. The internet-fueled popularity in turn helped the song mount the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and earn a renewed push on the Adult R&B Airplay list – after its original No. 2 run, “Made for Me” slipped as low as No. 7 before it rebounded into the top five again. On the latest list, it sits at No. 6.

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In addition to banking her first Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 as an artist, Muni Long also visits the summit for the first time as a writer, having co-penned the track with Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri and Jordan “XL” Orvash; the latter three also produced the tune. Through the new leader, Orvash visits the penthouse for the first time in either capacity, with his first work to reach the chart. Cox, meanwhile, collects his 11th Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 as both a producer and a writer, while Dupri adds a 21st No. 1 on the chart for both his writing and production credits.

Elsewhere, “Made for Me” repeats at No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. Despite no change in rank, the song added 7% in audience to reach 18.4 million in the tracking week. The single also vaults 20-14 on Rhythmic Airplay through a 36% increase in plays. Rising support from the three formats – adult R&B, mainstream R&B/hip-hop and rhythmic – helps “Made for Me” drive 30-23 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, where it improved 13% in audience for 27.4 million in weekly listenership.

20 Mar 2024

Jedi Are Being Hunted In ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Series ‘The Acolyte’ Trailer

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Star Wars The Acolyte

Source: Disney+ / Disney+

While Star Wars fans have many issues with both the prequel and sequel trilogies that followed the first three classics that George Lucas blessed us with, the spinoff shows that stream on Disney+ have garnered much love and support. Now another series will be coming that will delve even deeper into the Star Wars universe.

Star Wars The Acolyte

Source: Disney+ / Disney+

On Tuesday (March 20), Disney+ released their first trailer for a new Star Wars spinoff series dubbed The Acolyte which centers around a Jedi killer and actually takes place 100 years before the Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace. Judging from the trailer, the Jedi will have their hands full as they try to take down the young, Force-wielding Sith in training, portrayed by Amanda Stenberg

In the trailer we see this assassin wield a red lightsaber so you just know chaos is about to go down. We’re with it. Also in the cast are Carrie-Ann Moss and Jodie Turner-Smith, as if we didn’t need more reason to tune in.

With the series taking place 100 years before the prequel films, we doubt we’ll see anyone from the OG Star Wars film make an appearance (Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, etc), but Chewbacca and other role players are definitely on the table and maybe even a legendary Sith or two might make a cameo or play a role in the show after it’s all said and done.

Check out the trailer for The Acolyte below and let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it premiers on Disney+ on June 4th. Peep photos in the gallery, too.



20 Mar 2024

Travis Kelce Opens Up About Attending Justin Timberlake’s L.A. Concert: ‘He’s the F—king Best’

Travis Kelce may be partial to Taylor Swift’s music, but he’s also a diehard Justin Timberlake fan through and through. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end recently attended the “Mirrors” singer’s one-night-only concert in Los Angeles, and in the latest episode of his New Heights podcast with Jason Kelce, he had only rave reviews for the show. 

“Everybody knows I’m a huge JT fan,” Travis told his older brother, who recently retired from the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line, on the episode posted Wednesday (March 20). “It’s been so cool meeting him out in Tahoe and playing golf with him.” 

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“JT always makes unbelievable music,” continued the Ohio native. “He was playing a bunch of renditions of his old classics, absolute bangers. It was so cool to see him play some of my favorites, man.” 

Travis met up with Barry Keoghan – who just so happens to be reportedly dating Sabrina Carpenter, one of Swift’s Eras Tour openers – at Timberlake’s March 13 performance. “When BK met TK,” the Saltburn star later wrote on Instagram Stories, sharing a photo with the football star. 

In addition to playing tracks from his new album Everything I Thought It Was, Timberlake brought out his *NSYNC bandmates for a surprise reunion during the show. The guys sang their ‘90s hits “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me” as well as their new song “Paradise,” which appears on the “SexyBack” artist’s March 15 LP. 

At one point, Travis posed for a photo with Chris Kirkpatrick’s 7-year-old son, Nash.  

“Any time you can see Justin Timberlake perform, I suggest you buy the ticket,” he added on his podcast. “He’s the f—king best.” 

Travis has previously expressed his love for Timberlake, revealing earlier this year that the former boy bander is the most famous contact (besides his superstar girlfriend, of course) that he has saved on his phone. “I appreciate you, Justin,” he said at the time.  

Since winning the Super Bowl in February, Travis has been spending much of his time traveling the world with Swift as she continues her Eras trek. Most recently, he joined her in Singapore, where he attended one of the musician’s six shows at National Stadium and jammed out to songs such as “Look What You Made Me Do.” 

As a result, the 14-time Grammy winner’s music is undoubtedly fresh in his mind – which could explain why he recited a snippet of Swift’s 2014 hit “Bad Blood” during another part of the new episode. While discussing NFL quarterback Kenny Pickett’s recent trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Eagles, he said, “Kenny and the Steelers — their relationship ended in a little bad blood,” mimicking the pop star’s catchy melody on the final two words. 

Watch the latest New Heights above.