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11 Mar 2024

Tank Promises Upcoming R&B Money Tour With Keri Hilson, Carl Thomas Will ‘Make a Lot of Memories’

R&B hitmaker Tank is springing back into tour mode. The singer-songwriter-producer will launch his R&B Money Tour in New Orleans on May 10. Joining him for the tour’s 25-city itinerary — including stops in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston — will be fellow hitmakers Keri Hilson (“Turnin Me On” featuring Lil Wayne, “Pretty Girl Rock”) and Carl Thomas (“I Wish,” “Emotional”).

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“The R&B Money Tour will be a movie!” Tank tells Billboard. “I can’t wait to celebrate with the fans and take them on this musical journey with two amazing artists, Keri Hilson and Carl Thomas. We will make a lot of memories on this tour.”

The tour announcement follows on the heels of Tank’s latest single, “Before We Get Started” featuring Fabolous. Released through Tank’s R&B Money label and Atlantic Records, the nostalgia-tinged contemporary R&B song was written by Dirk Pate and produced by Bizness Boi and Derelle Rideout. Its accompanying video, described in the tour release announcement as a “vibrant homage to the genre’s rich esthetic and enduring allure,” was directed by Taj & Dre.

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“Think of ‘Before We Get Started’ as a contemporary classic, capturing the spirit of 2024 while paying homage to the magic of ’90s R&B,” Tank further explains to Billboard. “The fusion with hip-hop creates a timeless musical experience, reminiscent of the authentic vibes from that era.”

In addition to his upcoming tour, Tank — whose hits include “Maybe I Deserve,” “Please Don’t Go,” “When We” and “Can’t Let It Show” — will appear at the Lovers & Friends Festival in Las Vegas on May 4. He’ll be joining a performer lineup that includes Usher, Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige. Tank also co-hosts the popular “R&B Money Podcast” with J. Valentine.

Tickets for the R&B Money Tour will become available on March 15 at 10 a.m. local time. Visit the tour’s website for more information.

Tank

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11 Mar 2024

Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign’s ‘Carnival’ Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” rebounds to its No. 2 Hot 100 high, from No. 5. It also jumps 3-1 for a second week atop Digital Song Sales (26,000, up 230%, sparked by a cappella and instrumental mixes released March 1 and a “Live at the Ryman” version, with Freak Freely, released March 5, while 11 versions of the song were discounted to a 69-cent sale price during the tracking week).

Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100, following six nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, as it notches an eighth week atop the Radio Songs chart (76.5 million, down 4%).

Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” is steady at No. 4 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 3.

Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” falls to No. 5 after two weeks atop the Hot 100. It leads the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart for a fourth week.

Tate McRae’s “Greedy” rises 8-6 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 3.

Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, keeps at No. 7 on the Hot 100, after it led for a week upon its debut last September. It tops the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts for a 28th week each.

SZA’s “Snooze” bumps 9-8 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2, as it rules the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart for a 31st week – surpassing her own “Kill Bill” for the longest command by a woman dating to the tally’s 2012 start.

Doja Cat’s “Agora Hills” returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, lifting 12-9, after hitting No. 7.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” holds at No. 10, following four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in October.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated March 16), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 12).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

11 Mar 2024

Bad Bunny Sues Concertgoer Who Fought to Keep ‘Bootleg’ Footage On YouTube

Attorneys for Bad Bunny have filed a lawsuit against a fan who posted videos from a recent concert to YouTube, arguing the Puerto Rican rapper was essentially forced to sue after the alleged bootlegger demanded that YouTube keep the clips online.

In a complaint filed Friday in federal court, attorneys for Bad Bunny (Benito Martínez Ocasio) claimed Eric Guillermo Madroñal Garrone posted videos covering ten songs from a February concert in Salt Lake City to his YouTube channel “MADforliveMUSIC,” infringing copyrights and “luring” viewers to his page.

Worse yet, the lawsuit claims, when Bad Bunny submitted a takedown request to YouTube, Garrone responded with a formal counter-notice defending his right to post the clips. That move would legally require YouTube to repost them – unless, that is, Bad Bunny went to court to stop them.

Trending on Billboard

“Defendants have objected to the removal of the unauthorized bootlegs from YouTube, refused to agree not to re-post the unauthorized bootlegs, and requested that YouTube reinstate the unauthorized bootlegs,” Bad Bunny’s attorneys wrote. “Unless enjoined by this court, defendants will continue to infringe Ocasio’s rights.”

Such disputes over online content happen all the time, but they’re usually handled without a lawsuit. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, artists like Bad Bunny can file a takedown request to online platforms like YouTube, requiring the site to pull down the allegedly infringing material. That’s typically the end of the story, especially in cases of extensive footage of full songs.

But the DMCA also empowers internet users to object to such requests if they believe that they’ve made a “fair use” of the materials in question – like, say, a news clip of a Bad Bunny concert that incidentally featured some of his music, or a parody video that mocked him by riffing on one of his songs.

In the case of Garrone’s footage, Bad Bunny’s representatives filed a takedown notice for all ten of the clips from the Salt Lake City concert, arguing that they featured unauthorized recordings of huge hits like “Yo Perreo Sola,” “Me Porto Bonito,” “Dakiti” and others. That notice initially succeeded in getting the clips pulled down.

But according to the lawsuit, Garrone then filed a DMCA counter-notice, requesting “reinstatement of the videos as soon as possible.” In a copy of the notice that was included in Bad Bunny’s lawsuit, Garrone argued that he had made “legitimate use of the content” and that the takedown notice “constitutes a serious detriment to my informative and outreach activities.”

“The removed videos also cover the start of the worldwide tour of Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Bad Bunny, with this being his first date out of the 47 planned across North America, constituting in itself a newsworthy event of high public interest and significant informative scope,” Garrone wrote. “In my opinion, the artist also benefits from the dissemination of the content in his own promotion, as his show is carefully captured, conveying the reality of the moment without alterations or post-production in the content.”

Under the DMCA, that move would require YouTube to repost Garrone’s footage unless Bad Bunny filed a copyright infringement lawsuit within ten days. In an email included in the lawsuit, YouTube warned Bad Bunny’s reps that “if we don’t get a response from you, the content at issue may be reinstated.”

“Your response must include evidence that you’ve taken legal action against the uploader to keep the content from being reinstated to YouTube,” the video site told Bad Bunny’s reps. “Usually, evidence would include a lawsuit against the producer which names the YouTube URLs at issue and seeks a court order to restrain the alleged infringement.”

On Friday, Bad Bunny’s lawyers did exactly that. They argued that Garrone’s videos “do not qualify as fair use” that would entitle them to reinstatement, and that they instead violated his rights.

“Each of the unauthorized bootlegs, both individually and collectively, negatively impacts the market for authorized uses of the Bad Bunny works by, among other things, luring YouTube viewers and associated advertising revenue away from authorized videos of the Bad Bunny Works,” the rapper’s attorneys wrote.

The lawsuit also accused Garrone of violating federal trademark laws by using Bad Bunny’s name in promoting the clips, and of violating a federal law specifically aimed at bootlegging.

Reps for Bad Bunny did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Garrone could not immediately be located for comment, because his YouTube page has been disabled.

11 Mar 2024

Mark Ronson Reveals Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ Was Almost Cut From ‘Barbie’: ‘Greta Had to Fight’

Ryan Gosling‘s performance of “I’m Just Ken” was arguably the most show-stopping moment from the 2024 Oscars, but according to Mark Ronson, it almost never happened.

In an interview with The Sunday Times ahead of the Academy Awards Sunday (March 10), the executive soundtrack producer of Barbie revealed that the over-the-top, satirical ballad was almost didn’t make it into the final cut of Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster 2023 film, much less the Oscars lineup.

“At that first screening the song wasn’t working,” Ronson, who co-wrote “I’m Just Ken” with Andrew Wyatt, told the publication. “I panicked. The humor wasn’t translating.”

Trending on Billboard

“Greta had to fight,” he continued. “The studio asked her how much she really needed it and she said, ‘With every inch of my body.’ And then there was a big swing.”

In the film, Gosling croons about his “blond fragility” in multiple settings and costumes, backed up by dozens of fellow Kens who also feel misunderstood in Barbie Land. Joined by Ronson, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen, the actor translated the sequence to a flamboyant stage performance at the 2024 Oscars in Los Angeles Sunday night, in celebration of the tune’s best original song nod. (The award ended up going to another Barbie song, Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?”)

Shortly after Barbie‘s theatrical release in July, “I’m Just Ken” reached No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Gosling a first-time charting musician on the ranking. In January, the tune won best original song at the Critic’s Choice Awards.

“Ken is ridiculous,” Ronson added to the publication. “But Greta’s point was that nobody should ever be laughing at a character. We feel their pain, as crazy as that sounds, about a guy wearing a white mink and two pairs of sunglasses. I never wanted to write a song for a cheap laugh. You want something to get under people’s skin.”

11 Mar 2024

4Batz Signs With Drake’s OVO Sound For EP Deal

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4Batz

4Batz, who hit it big with his “Act II: Date @ 8” at the tail end of 2023, earned himself a Drake feature for the remix of his breakout single. Now, after labels were vying for the young artist’s attention, 4Batz inked an EP deal with Drake’s OVO Sound label according to a new report.

As seen over on Billboard, the news of 4Batz inking what is being called a “short-term license” by the outlet puts an end to speculation after it was teased that Drake would be joining the Dallas, Texas native on the “Act II: Date @ 8” track. The song picked up a lot of buzz after dropping in December of last year, and on The Joe Budden Podcast‘s Sleepers section, the host featured the viral track.

The outlet says that several labels have been clamoring to sign 4Batz and the song charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 59. Last Friday (March 8), the remix with Drizzy hit the DSPs, adding a significant boost to the already-buzzing track

Congratulations to 4Batz and his entire team. Check out the “Act II: Date @ 8” remix below.

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Photo: @4batzz / Instagram

11 Mar 2024

The Top Rap Song of Every Year Since 1989

Since Billboard first began its national survey of song sales in the 1940s, the ever-changing musical landscape has necessitated a growing portfolio of charts that capture the methods, sounds, and places around the nation – and then the world – where music is consumed.

Thirty-five years ago on March 11, 1989, Billboard debuted its first rap chart – Hot Rap Singles, with The Stop the Violence Movement’s “Self Destruction” crowning the initial list. With the genre’s national profile firmly established thanks to acts such as Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J, the first rap-dedicated chart arrived partly, as the list’s first manager, Terri Rossi wrote, to, “give proper credit to the performers, writers and producers who make this music so successful.”

While Hot Rap Songs was originally conceived as a bi-weekly sales chart, the rapid popularity and interest in the genre forced a change to a weekly sales recap before the chart reached its first anniversary. Call it prophetic: The increasing consumption of rap music and growing appetite for hip-hop culture set the stage for the genre’s explosive impact in the coming decades.

Since that first ranking, Billboard has monitored and reported popular tastes through every chapter of rap’s history: the East Coast beginnings, G-Funk’s rise, women MCs getting their proper due, regional rival pockets popping up throughout the U.S., features helping R&B singers – and then pop stars – update their sounds and images, crunk, trap, SoundCloud, drill and the list goes on. The chart’s methodology has also kept up with the times. Beginning as just a sales list, Hot Rap Songs switched to an airplay-only ranking in June 2002 amid the declining number of physical single releases.

“A number of rap’s biggest hits were never released to stores, and thus were absent from our chart,” Geoff Mayfield, Billboard’s then-director of charts, noted. “This change will yield a more relevant chart.”

Updates have since continued, with sales’ return and streaming’s addition to the formula in October 2012.

To recap the chart’s 35th anniversary, Billboard looks at the best of the best – the No. 1 year-end titles on the Hot Rap Songs chart for its entire existence. Together, the annual leaders offer snapshots of rap music’s history, with a range of artists, regions and techniques – samples, cadence and the like – that reveal rap’s expansion from block-party entertainment to an unparalleled influence over mainstream music for the last generation.

11 Mar 2024

Dolly Parton Is Serving Up a New Cookbook That’s Already a Bestseller

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Dolly Parton is ready to serve fans more than just music these days, as she’s partnered with her sister, Rachel Parton George, to write a new cookbook titled Good Lookin’ Cookin’. The “Jolene” singer joins the growing list of musician who’ve written cookbooks, with copies available to buy on Sept. 17. For those antsy to get a copy, Amazon, Walmart and Barnes & Noble have opened preorders for Good Lookin’ Cookin’ online.

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After hosting Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala, the country superstar is now headed back to the kitchen, where instead of expanding her Duncan Hines cake mixes, she and her sister will reveal their favorite “crowd-pleasing” recipes, including Thanksgiving dishes, appetizers and even the special dish Parton requests her sister make for her birthday each year.

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The cookbook is already impressing the masses, as it’s earned the label of an Amazon No. 1 bestseller for Southern U.S. cooking, food and wine. If you buy Good Lookin’ Cookin’ online now through Amazon, you’ll be guaranteed the preorder price of $35, as well as have it shipped to you by the time the book is released.

Keep reading to preorder the cookbook.

yellow cookbook with photo of dolly parton and rachel parton george

‘Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals’

$35

$35

$31.50

$35

10% off

From recipes to hosting tips, the Parton sisters have filled Good Lookin’ Cookin’s pages with every recipe you could possibly need to create a mouth-watering meal for friends and family. You can also look forward to photos of the two cooking, as well as 80 different recipes to discover, like the “Dolly Dollop” and what condiment is almost always on the table at Parton family meals, according to the official description.

Fans don’t just have to cook Parton-approved recipes to feel closer to the artist. If you need an excuse to expand you merch collection, the “9 to 5” singer was turned into a display-worthy Funko Pop! Pet owners can also deck out their furry friends in the Grammy-winner’s Doggy Parton pet apparel.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best cocktail books, musician-owned alcohol brands and portable grills.

11 Mar 2024

Elton John AIDS Foundation Raises Nearly $11 Million at Annual Academy Awards Party

While plenty of musicians made headlines at Sunday night’s (March 10) Academy Awards ceremony, one star managed to make a big difference.

During its annual Academy Awards viewing party on Sunday, the Elton John AIDS Foundation raised $10.8 million dollars for AIDS research. The money from the event will go toward the organization’s Rocket Fund, a fundraising initiative meant to “redouble the fight against AIDS everywhere,” according to the organization’s website.

“So far, this has been an extraordinary year beyond my wildest dreams, including the honor of achieving the EGOT, but it’s tonight’s gathering that is the ultimate highlight,” John said in a statement following the event. “I’m so grateful to everyone who comes out each year to have a lot of fun and do a whole lot of good together. We’ve been loud and proud about showing compassion and ending the dreadful stigma that follows HIV, and we won’t stop until we achieve our mission.”

The annual party — hosted this year by John, David Furnish, Tiffany Haddish, David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris — featured a star-studded guest list that included Sharon Stone, Donatella Versace, Danny DeVito and plenty more. During the evening, a multimillion-dollar live auction saw the organization sell off a number of luxury items, including a bedazzled Yamaha piano signed by John, two pinball machines, two pairs of Chopard earrings and a custom-made Rolex for John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

Trending on Billboard

At the night’s close, John performed alongside the evening’s musical guests, R&B-pop trio Gabriels, to his 1989 hit “Are You Ready for Love,” recreating an iconic moment from Glastonbury 2023 when Gabriels lead singer Jacob Lusk joined John onstage for the track.

“Every year, our iconic Oscar Party just gets bigger and better, a testament to the unwavering support of our passionate supporters,” Furnish said in a statement. “In such worrying times with the rise of discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S., it’s so important to stand up and raise awareness for the people who need our support the most. The funds raised tonight are helping us enhance access to vital health resources such as HIV testing and medication, making a tangible difference in countless lives. We couldn’t have done it without such a great showing of support.”

11 Mar 2024

7 Songs You Didn’t Know PartyNextDoor Wrote & Produced

Billboard‘s newest cover star PartyNextDoor hasn’t just established himself as an alternative R&B auteur over the last decade, but he’s also cemented himself as one of pop music’s most sought-out hitmakers.

After becoming the first recording artist signed to Drake‘s OVO label in 2013, Party has made hit after hit with The Boy. He provided background vocals on “Own It” and “Come Thru” on Drake’s 2013 album Nothing Was the Same, and he co-wrote and produced “Legend,” “Preach” and “Wednesday Night Interlude” on 2015’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, while also serving as a featured artist on the latter two songs. “Preach” earned PND his first Billboard Hot 100 entry in 2015. And he earned an album of the year Grammy nomination in 2017 for contributing to Views (he has a co-writing credit on “U with Me?”).

He’s also been behind some of Rihanna‘s biggest hits, like the nine-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Work,” featuring Drake, and DJ Khaled‘s seven-week No. 2 “Wild Thoughts,” featuring Bryson Tiller. Donald Glover recently called “Sex With Me” — another ANTI track Party co-wrote — the “GOAT” Rihanna song. And some fans and critics have argued that his leaked reference tracks for those songs sound better than their final versions.

When it comes to demos, Party told Billboard, “I’m just trying to get these ideas out. And if I took the time to record it, that’s when I don’t give the record out. [If] I did all the background vocals, I sang it properly like a vocalist, that’s when it’s harder to give it away. So it’s easier to give it away while it’s just a skeleton and you’re just talking through things.”

Billboard rounded up seven songs PartyNextDoor co-wrote and/or -produced, which other artists recorded.

11 Mar 2024

Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Donald Trump In Real Time At The 2024 Oscars

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96th Annual Academy Awards - Show

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty

Donald Trump had plenty to say about Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars hosting—but the comedian had the last laugh, responding in real-time.

On Sunday night (March 10) the 96th Academy Awards were coming to a close. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel served as the host of the grand event at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and he began to thank the audience. “This show is not about me, and I appreciate you having me. It’s really about you, and Emma, and all these great actors and actresses and filmmakers, but I was told we had like an extra minute, and I’m really proud of something, and I was wondering if I could share it with you. I just got a review and ummm…,” Kimmel said before reading a Truth Social post from former President Donald Trump about him.

“Has there ever been a worse host than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars,” the post said. “His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be. Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent,’ George Slopanopoulos. He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous. Blah. Blah. Blah. Make America Great Again.” Kimmel paused as the crowd laughed. “See if you can guess which former president just posted that on Truth Social. Anyone? No? Well thank you President Trump. Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still up. Isn’t it past your jail time?”, Kimmel retorted. The Oscars crowd broke into heavy laughter and applause after Kimmel’s jab.

Kimmel revealed that he had been advised not to read Trump’s post on Truth Social during an interview with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on  Monday morning (March 11). “They’re like, ‘You’ve got a little bit of time’ and I was like, ‘I’m reading the Trump tweet,’ and they’re like, ‘No, no, don’t read that,’” he said. He didn’t specify the person in particular who told him that he couldn’t read the post, but Kimmel replied: “[I was like] ‘Yes I am.’”

It’s not the first time that Kimmel has verbally smacked down the former president concerning the Oscars. Back in 2018, Trump posted “Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY,” the morning after that year’s show on Twitter, also hosted by Kimmel. “Problem is, we don’t have Stars anymore – except your President (just kidding, of course)!” Kimmel fired back: “Thanks, lowest-rated President in HISTORY. “