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26 Feb 2024

Jennifer Lopez’s ‘This Is Me… Now’ Bows at No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart

Jennifer Lopez achieves her third No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated March 2), as her new studio album This Is Me… Now opens atop the tally. Lopez was last at No. 1 more than 20 years ago, when J to Tha L-O! The Remixes spent two weeks atop the chart in February and March of 2002. She scored her first No. 1 on the list with J.Lo in 2001.

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In total, This Is Me… Now marks Lopez’s ninth top 10 on Top Album Sales and 13th chart entry overall. The new release is a sister project to Lopez’s third album, This Is Me… Then, which was released 2002 and peaked at No. 2 on the chart.

Also debuting in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Yeat’s 2093, Blackberry Smoke’s Be Right Here and IDLES’ TANGK.

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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new March 2-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Feb. 27. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

In the tracking week ending Feb. 22, This Is Me… Now sold 14,000 copies in the U.S. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 11,000 (6,000 on CD and 5,000 on vinyl) and digital download sales comprise 3,000. The album was available in four CD variants (including one that had a signed insert), nine vinyl editions (all were color variants, including one with a signed insert) and three digital album variations (a standard version, a deluxe edition with two bonus tracks and a commentary edition sold via Lopez’s official webstore).

This Is Me… Now also debuts at No. 1 on Top Current Album Sales, No. 1 on Tastemaker Albums, No. 7 on Vinyl Albums, No. 7 on Independent Albums and No. 38 on the Billboard 200. Top Current Album Sales ranks the week’s top-selling new/current albums (non-catalog/older titles). Vinyl Album tallies the week’s top-selling vinyl releases. Tastemaker Albums measures the top-selling titles at independent and small chain record stores. Independent Albums ranks the most popular independently released albums of the week, by units.

On the Billboard 200, This Is Me… Now marks Lopez’s 13th total chart entry and 11th top 40-charting effort. It’s her first studio album in nearly a decade, and her first release outside the major label system, as the new set was issued via Nuyorican/BMG.

“This is the first step of an immediate strategy with a long-term goal as the incredible content to support the album continues to roll out,” says Cyndi Lynott, SVP marketing at BMG, “including the This Is Me…Now: A Love Story Amazon Original, a documentary entitled The Greatest Love Story Never Told, and of course her massive summer tour.”

Meanwhile, Yeat debuts at No. 2 with 2093 – his second entry on Top Album Sales and first to reach the top 40. The set sold 12,000 copies, all from digital downloads, as the album was not available to purchase in any physical configurations. The set’s digital sales were boosted by its availability across three variations. 2093 was released initially as a 22-song standard album on Feb. 16, boasting features from Future and Lil Wayne. A day later, the album was reissued in a deluxe edition, dubbed 2093 P2, with two bonus tracks, including one featuring Drake. Then, on Feb. 21, the album saw another reissue, termed 2093 P3, with four bonus tracks. This version of the album was only available as a digital download via the artist’s official webstore (and the four bonus tracks were only available as part of the full album purchase).

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) rises 4-3 with 11,000 sold (though down 25%) and Swift’s former leader Lover climbs 6-4 with 9,000 (down 24%). Toby Keith’s chart-topper 35 Biggest Hits rises 9-5 with nearly 9,000 sold (up 28%).

Blackberry Smoke clocks its fourth top 10-charting set on Top Album Sales as Be Right Here arrives at No. 6 with 8,500 sold.

Taylor Swift’s former No. 1s Midnights and Folklore are up next, non-movers at Nos. 7 and 8, with nearly 7,500 (down 32%) and 7,000 (down 17%), respectively.

P1Harmony’s Killin’ It falls 2-9 in its second week with 7,000 sold (down 60%).

IDLES’ TANGK starts at No. 10, marking the second top 10 for the act. The set starts with 7,000 sold.

In the week ending Feb. 22, there were 1.166 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 7.3% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 858,000 (down 5.3%) and digital albums comprised 308,000 (down 12.6%).

There were 408,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Feb. 22 (down 6.1% week-over-week) and 446,000 vinyl albums sold (down 4.6%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 3.342 million (down 32.1% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 3.759 million (down 47.1%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 9.507 million (down 35.8% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 7.137 million (down 41%) and digital album sales total 2.37 million (down 12.7%).

26 Feb 2024

Billboard Explains: Luísa Sonza’s Global Force On The Charts

Narrator:

Brazilian artists Luísa Sonza knows a thing or two about getting on the Billboard charts. And that’s why she’s this year as Women In Music Global Force honoree. Luísa first got her start in 2014, singing covers on YouTube and first entered the charts in 2020. This is Billboard Explains Luísa Sonza’s global force on the charts. Luísa has seven songs on the global excluding US chart including “Cachorrinhas” which peaked at No. 69 in 2022. “Modo Turbo” with Pablo Vittar, featuring Anitta, that one hit No. 71 in 2021, and Chico, which peaked at No. 78 in 2023. Those three songs also charted on the Billboard Global 200. Outside of the US, Luísa has charted 12 songs on the Billboard Brazil Hot 100 including three top 10s. “Chico” which hit No. 1,”Penhasco2″ with Demi Lovato which hit No. 4 and “Sou Musa do Verão” with Marshmello which hit No. 9. She’s released three studio albums, two EPs and two compilations, has collaborated with Katy Perry on the song “Cry About It Later.” The Brazilian artist is already making an impact around the world and we can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

26 Feb 2024

The Weeknd, Madonna & Playboi Carti “Popular,” Maino & Young Thug “Poetry” & More | Daily Visuals 2.26.24

HipHopWired Featured Video

H and M show, Autumn Winter 2017, Paris Fashion Week, France - 01 Mar 2017

Source: WWD / Getty

Now that HBO has canceled a second season to The Weeknd’s polarizing series The Idol, the Canadian crooner will be having a lot of time on his hand’s so it makes sense that he return to the studio to continue to keep a grip on his day job.

Returning to the music scene, The Weeknd links up with Madonna and Playboi Carti for the visuals to “Popular,” where he dwells in an empty mansion overseas while Madonna flexes an icey grill and toned 65-year-old body in her apartment suite. Can’t say we saw this collaboration coming.

Maino meanwhile drops a gem from his vault as he releases a clip for “Poetry” which finds him and Young Thug (yes, Young Thug) turning up from the streets in the back of a Benz to the sound stage with their peoples behind them. With Thugger being locked down for years already you have to wonder how long ago this video was shot.

Check out the rest of today’s drops and some joints you might’ve missed over the weekend including work from Vory, Tre Savage featuring Webbie, and more.

THE WEEKND, MADONNA & PLAYBOI CARTI – “POPULAR”



MAINO & YOUNG THUG “POETRY”



VORY – “WHY LIE”



TRE SAVAGE FT. WEBBIE – “WHERE SHE AT”



FLO MILLI – “D’S”



WATERR – “ALL CLONES”



TIERRA WHACK – “27 CLUB”



COUSIN STIZZ – “PUDDLE BOOTS”



JAPHETH HANNON – “REALLY NI**A”



BRYANT BARNES – “DON’T WANT A LOVE SONG”



26 Feb 2024

How Gotopo & Don Elektron’s ‘Sacúdete’ Became the MLS’ Latest Soccer Anthem

There are certain qualities that turn a song into a soccer anthem. First, its sense of euphoria to match the game’s twists, turns and rollercoaster of emotions. Second, the song’s ability to get everyone on their feet. So, it makes sense that “Sacúdete” became the Major League Soccer’s (MLS) pick to soundtrack its latest Our Soccer Is Calling campaign spot.

The hypnotic electrónica track by Afro-Indigenous-Venezuelan producer and songwriter Gotopo alongside producer Don Elektron (of Mexican group Kinky) was an unlikely choice given that the song was released last year and Gotopo is a relatively newer artist. However, it was the song that caught the attention of the MLS.

“We fell in love with the energy of the song,” says Jesse Perl, MLS’ VP of brand marketing, who worked with indie label Waxploitation Records to license the track for the campaign. “We think it’s great to use our platform to work not only with an established superstar producer like Don Elektron, but also emerging artists like Gotopo. This year, we wanted to make sure that our commitment to Latin culture came to life through sound, it’s something we really wanted to be intentional about.”

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It’s not the first time that the MLS works with Latin acts for campaigns, Prince Royce and Miguel have been tapped in previous years, but this latest song and campaign captures the zeitgeist of the fútbol movement and excitement with the arrival of Argentine soccer icon Lionel Messi to the league.

“Something really interesting is starting to happen, like it did back with hip-hop and the NBA in the 90s,” explains Perl. “There’s this marrying of Latin music and soccer in such an organic way. Peso Pluma is coming to games with Dr. Dre. Then you have Bizarrap is going to games in Miami. There’s all these people who are fans of the sport and now our league.”

It’s also a direct reflection of the league’s fans. According to data provided by the MLS, the league has the youngest and most diverse fans among the major sports leagues in North America with 30% of the MLS’ fanbase being Hispanic and 69% of the league’s fans are Gen-Z and millennial.

“Our soccer is calling is this idea of it being an invitation to bring people who are curious to discover, and we’re fortunate that there’s more curiosity about our league than ever before.”

Watch the “Our Soccer is Calling” spot, soundtracked by “Sacúdete,” below.

26 Feb 2024

Zac Efron Is Loving the Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce ‘High School Musical’ Comparisons

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are currently living out a grown-up, real-life version of Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez’s love story in High School Musical, and Zac Efron is officially here for it.

In a recent interview published Monday (Feb. 26), the Iron Claw star was asked for his take on fan comparisons between Tayvis and HSM. “Wow, I didn’t think about that,” Efron, who starred in the Disney Channel franchise as basketball star Troy, told E! News while promoting his new Prime Video film Ricky Stanicky. “That’s really cool. Shout out to all the High School Musical fans.”

“I love the whole Travis, Taylor thing,” he continued. “Man, I’m so happy for them. They’re two of the best people in the world. How can you not be stoked?”

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Fans have been pointing out similarities between the sports-meets-music romance in HSM and Swift’s relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end since the couple first went public in September. For example, one Swiftie tweeted in January, “the chiefs game and the golden globes being within hours of each other reminds me [of] when Troy and Gabriella had the basketball game and the academic decathlon at the same time as the audition for the school musical.”

Shortly afterward, Vanessa Hudgens — who starred as Efron’s love interest in HSM — said on Instagram that the tweet was “hilarious.”

Way back when, Efron and Swift co-starred in The Lorax. While promoting the animated film on The Ellen Show, the pair teamed up for a hilarious musical skit poking fun at dating rumors surrounding their friendship set to the tune of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.”

Swift and Kelce were last seen together at the pop star’s Feb. 23 Eras Tour show in Australia, where the football player danced along to his superstar girlfriend’s set alongside Katy Perry and Rita Ora and passed out guitar picks to fans. The day prior, the couple went on a date to the Sydney Zoo.

26 Feb 2024

Alejandro Sanz Opens 2024 Viña del Mar Festival, Receives Golden & Silver Gaviota Awards

Eight years after his last performance at Viña del Mar, Alejandro Sanz has once again won over the “monster” of Quinta Vergara on Sunday night, when he opened the 63rd edition of Viña’s International Song Festival.

The Spanish singer/songwriter delighted the event’s 15,000 attendees by performing live hits including “No Es Lo Mismo,” “Lo Que Fui Es Lo Que Soy” and “Deja Que Te Bese,” to name a few.

The set began with a video of Sanz, on the large screens at the back of the stage, narrating the beginning of his autobiographical song “Bio” before appearing live — dressed in black, with white sneakers and dark glasses — accompanied by a band that included about a dozen musicians among instrumentalists and backup singers. “Viña roars!” he yelled before starting singing.

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Sanz later greeted the audience in the Chilean coastal city: “How good to see you!” he said to the “monster,” as the festival’s audience at the Quinta Vergara is known as. “What a joy to return to this stage after a few years. This is a very special night for all of us here; I hope it is for you too. We are going to do absolutely everything to make it so.”

And they did not disappoint. For almost an hour and a half, Sanz and his band delivered hit after hit.

One of the most emotional moments came from “Looking for Paradise,” originally recorded with Alicia Keys, which Sanz performed this time with one of his backup singers. The artist dedicated the uplifting bilingual song to the volunteers working to help the victims of the fires that left 120 people dead and more than 15,000 homes affected earlier this month in Viña del Mar. “I want to dedicate it to them with all the love in the world and thank them. It is from those people that we, as humanity, can really nourish ourselves, because they are people who selflessly give everything,” he said. “So this is for you. ¡Viva Chile!”

Some of the songs that inspired a sing-along among the fans were “La Fuerza del Corazón”, “Cuando Nadie Me Ve,” “Quisiera Ser”, “Mi Soledad y Yo”, “Y, ¿Si Fuera Ella?” and, of course, “Corazón Partío,” which the audience belted with Sanz wholeheartedly. Later, they awarded his art and his solidarity with a Silver and Golden Gaviota Awards, the highest honor awarded to the guest artists, as per the intensity of the audience’s ovation.

But Sanz wasn’t the only international star who performed on the opening night of the event. Colombian singer Manuel Turizo followed him with his Viña debut, performing an eclectic, colorful set that included ballads, urbano and tropical music, with songs from “Desconocidos” and “Déjala Que Vuelva” to “Vagabundo” and his biggest hits, “La Bachata” and “El Merengue,” which undoubtedly lit up the crowd. Turizo also received a strong ovation from the “monster,” and went home with his first Silver Gaviota Award.

Manuel Turizo

Manuel Turizo performs during the 63th Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Viña del Mar, Chile on Feb. 26, 2024.

JAVIER TORRES/AFP via Getty Images

The Viña del Mar Festival 2024 takes place all week at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater and can be seen outside of Chile on the Star+ streaming platform and the festival’s YouTube channel.

The celebration continues Monday (Feb. 26) night with performances by Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo Bocelli, plus Miranda! as the second act. Maná and Men at Work on Feb. 27; Mora and Anitta on Feb. 29; a night devoted to Chilean artists with Los Bunkers and Young Cister on March 1; and for the finale on Feb. 2, Maria Becerra, who took the place of Peso Pluma after the Mexican artist canceled his Latin American tour last week. Trueno will be the second artist of the night.

If you missed Sunday’s performances by Alejandro Sanz and Manuel Turizo, or want to relive them, you can watch them here below:



26 Feb 2024

Watch TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Taehyun & HueningKai Dance to ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’: ‘Beyonce Collab When?’

They may be K-pop stars, but that doesn’t mean the boys of TOMORROW X TOGETHER can’t bust out a country move. In a video posted to the band’s TikTok, members Taehyun and HueningKai put their own spin on a viral dance trend set to Beyoncé‘s newest hit “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

The clip finds the “Sugar Rush Ride” singers tipping their cowboy hats — one real and one imagined — at each other before launching into the popular hoedown-inspired choreography that’s been sweeping the app since Bey released “Texas Hold ‘Em” earlier this month. After going through the motions of stomping their cowboy boots and spinning invisible lassos, the pair ended with a big high five.

“where did the hat go,” the band captioned the video, alongside two smiley-face emojis rocking cowboy hats.

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Fans in the comments were all for the crossover, with one person writing, “taehyun is my fav cowboy.”

Another person wrote, “Beyoncé collab when??”

This week, “Texas Hold ‘Em” rises to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after first debuting at No. 2. Bey released the song alongside “16 Carriages” Feb. 11, mere moments after teasing her new music in a Verizon commercial that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl. On the same day, she also confirmed that her new album Act II will drop at some point this year.

TXT is fresh off its Sweet Mirage international tour, which closed out 2023 as the fourth highest-grossing K-pop trek of the year (following only behind BLACKPINK, Suga and TWICE’s runs). The boy band’s February EP The Name Chapter: Temptation debuted atop the Billboard 200, and its October project The Name Chapter: Freefall peaked at No. 3 on the chart.

Watch Taehyun and HueningKai dance along to Bey’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” below.

26 Feb 2024

Nicki Minaj’s 20 Biggest Billboard Hits, From ‘Super Bass’ to ‘Super Freaky Girl’

The Queen of Rap. Roman. Nicki Lewinski, Nicki the Ninja, Nicki the Boss, Nicki The Harajuku Barbie. The list of nicknames Nicki Minaj has accumulated over the course of her career goes on and on, and so does her list of Billboard hits — may as well add Nicki the Chart-Topper to the heap.

The Trinidad-born, Queens-raised artist got her big break in 2009 when Lil Wayne invited her to become the first woman on his Young Money Entertainment imprint — after which she soon solidified herself as an icon with her game-changing debut album Pink Friday in 2010. Since then, she’s topped the Hot Rap Songs chart a whopping 10 times. But it wasn’t until 15 years into her career that she earned her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with a 2020 feature on Doja Cat’s viral TikTok smash “Say So.” (Her first unaccompanied hit to rule the ranking came two years later, with her Rick James-sampling, Hammer-honoring “Super Freaky Girl” ascending to the top in August 2022.)

That’s not to say Minaj wasn’t an absolute force on the Hot 100 in the decade-plus leading up to “Say So,” though. In fact, she’ll forever hold the title of the first woman to notch 100 entries on the chart — a number she’s since exceeded dozens of times over — thanks to her immaculate catalog of colorful boss b–ch anthems, cutthroat diss tracks and trailblazing assertions of female power and sexuality.

From her “Barbie” necklace-wearing days to now, keep reading to see Nicki Minaj’s biggest Hot 100 hits below.

26 Feb 2024

Meet Nathan Ferraro, One of the Canadian Songwriters Credited on Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’

This week, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Country Songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em.” But many of the credited songwriters and producers come from a surprising place – not Texas or Nashville, but Canada.

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“Texas Hold ‘Em” is co-written by three Canadians: Nathan Ferraro (who also co-produced it), Elizabeth Boland (who has released music for the label Arts & Crafts as Lowell) and Megan Bülow (who makes music as bülow). The three of them are all credited on the song, with Ferraro also co-producing the song with Killah B and Beyoncé.

“I love Beyoncé and I love the record,” Ferraro tells Billboard Canada, “She’s created such an amazing cultural moment.”

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Another Canadian, Dave Hamelin (formerly of The Stills), is credited on Beyoncé’s other new song, “16 Carriages,” listed as a producer and engineer.

To be clear, Beyoncé’s moment is not about any of these Canadian musicians. Many have rightfully pointed to the contributions of Rhiannon Giddens, a musician who’s been showing the world that the banjo was originally a Black instrument (which fits right in with Beyoncé’s Renaissance mission of reclaiming Black genres, first house and now country). Prominent Black roots musician, Robert Randolph, is also credited as a steel guitar player.

But it is also a big credit for a number of Canadian musicians who have been working behind the scenes of the music industry in bigger and bigger ways.

Ferraro was in an alt-rock band called The Midway State that had some success in Canada in the late 2000s. A signing to Interscope as a teenager brought him to Los Angeles, where he splits time with Toronto (it also brought a collaboration with a then up-and-coming Lady Gaga).

After writing for and with mostly Canadian artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen and Jessie Reyez, he had a modest international hit with bülow in “Not A Love Song,” which exemplified their collaboration as songwriters. He also wrote with Lowell (signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts) for her project. They all formed a songwriting team that picked up steam in 2022, collaborating on the Charli XCX song “Yuck.”

“[The collaboration] works well for us,” Ferraro tells Billboard Canada. “We’re such good friends and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I think we all have a lot of mutual respect, so we have a lot of confidence together and that allows us to take risks.”

He estimates they’ve written about 100 songs together, with about 20 of them seeing the light of day. Personally, he’s written about 1500, he says. He’s been recognized in Canada, with seven SOCAN awards for public performance of songwriting, but he’s also established himself as part of a “vibrant” community and industry of songwriters, studio musicians, producers and A&R people in Los Angeles.

“I first started coming here, sleeping on couches wherever I could, working with different collaborators and friends,” he says. “I did that for years. And at the end of the pandemic, I started spending even more time here and got a manager down here. And now I’m spending about six months a year here.”

Ferraro is inspired by prolific songwriters who’ve both written for other artists and recorded under their own names – Carole King and Diane Warren, especially. But he describes his collaborative songwriting process as one based on friendship and spirituality – not necessarily religious, but one with room for an ineffable type of expression that drives in-the-room creation.

“When I read a book by Rick Rubin or John Lennon, that often comes up. And I don’t think it’s by chance,” he says. “For any artist there’s a vision and a belief in something that doesn’t yet exist. I think it was Quincy Jones who said ‘always leave some space for God in the room,’ and it’d be silly of me to negate that. There’s a humility and a presence and an openness, and I think that’s important.”

Many of his biggest credits have been for female artists, from Lady Gaga to Charli XCX, something he attributes to growing up with five younger sisters. None of those credits have been as big as “Texas Hold ‘Em,” though, which could become a breakthrough credit for Ferraro, Lowell and bülow.

“Honestly, since I was 14, I had the vision that I would write songs that could have a major impact,” he says. “And it’s pretty delusional because it’s just so, so far away. I grew up in Collingwood, Ontario. But you just put one foot in front of the other and write lots and lots of songs and don’t give up. And that’s led me here.”

This article originally appeared on Billboard Canada.

26 Feb 2024

Normani Teases Sultry New Song Off Upcoming Debut Album

Normani is coming in strong for her upcoming debut album, and she took to social media to tease one of the project’s sultry tracks.

In a clip shared by a fan account on Instagram, the 27-year-old star is seen lip-syncing along to a smooth R&B melody, featuring the lyrics: “When I get you alone / Boy, what you going to do with this? / Don’t talk too much / Just do this s—.”

See the post here.

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Normani announced last week she’ll be releasing her debut album, Dopamine, this year. She posted the album artwork on Instagram, which features the black-leather bikini-clad singer riding on top of a black rocket. “cryingg typing this rn. DOPAMINE THE ALBUM,” she captioned the post. The announcement of her long-awaited first full-length project arrives after fans noticed the ex-Fifth Harmony member had cleared her Instagram.

Normani has yet to reveal Dopamine‘s release date, but according to the rapidly changing date counter on the aforementioned website, it will be released in 2024. In addition to her elated fanbase, the announcement also drew positive comments from the artist’s former Fifth Harmony members Camila Cabello, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane.

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“Let’s gooooo?,” Jauregui wrote, while Cabello added a series of rocket emojis. “there she is ???,” Jane added. And Brooke shared several sparkling heart emojis and clapping hand.