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23 Jul 2023

‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated July 29). It’s the first time a re-recorded Swift album has spent its first two weeks at No. 1. The pop superstar’s re-recorded Fearless and Red each bowed at No. 1 in 2021, and then fell from the top slot in their second frames — though the former returned to No. 1 six months later after its release on vinyl and signed CD.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) earned 121,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending July 20 (down 83%), according to Luminate.

Swift leads a quiet top 10, where the region hosts zero debuts for the first time in six months. The top 10 was last absent of debuts on the Jan. 28-dated list, when SZA’s SOS led the chart for a sixth week.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 29, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (July 25). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 121,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 20, SEA units comprise 73,000 (down 65%, equaling 95.6 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 22 songs), album sales comprise 47,000 (down 91%) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (down 72%).

For a second week in a row, Swift has four albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. A week ago, she became the first living artist to chart four albums in the top 10 at the same time since 1966. On the latest chart, those same four sets (all former No. 1s) are still in the top 10, as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by Midnights (rising 5-4 with 51,000 units; down 7%), Lover (7-6 with 44,000; down 2%) and Folklore (a non-mover at No. 10 with 34,000; up 5%).

Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time is stationary at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 105,000 equivalent album units (up 2%). One Thing at a Time has earned in excess of 100,000 equivalent album units in all 20 of its chart weeks. It extends its own record as the album with the most weeks of 100,000-plus units since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014.

Peso Pluma’s Génesis returns to its peak, rising 4-3 (55,000 equivalent album units; down 5%); Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album climbs 6-5 (48,000; up 3%); SZA’s SOS ascends 8-7 (43,000; down 1%); Lil Uzi Vert’s former leader Pink Tape dips 3-8 (40,000; down 34%); and Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse is steady at No. 9 (nearly 40,000; down 6%).

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.

23 Jul 2023

The 1975 Cancels Shows in Indonesia and Taiwan Following Malaysia LGBTQ Controversy

The 1975 are canceling shows in Indonesia and Taiwan after the band’s set was cut at a Malaysia music festival following frontman Matty Healy‘s comments about the country’s anti-gay laws and kissing his bandmate on stage.

The British pop-rock group was scheduled to perform at Jakarta’s We the Fest on Sunday (July 23) and at the Taipei Music Center on Tuesday (July 25) as part of their 2023 Asia tour. The band announced in a statement on Sunday that both performances have been called off.

“The 1975 regret to announce that their forthcoming shows in Jakarta and Taipei will no longer be going ahead as planned,” the 1975 wrote in a statement posted on We the Fest’s Twitter page.

“The band never takes the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei but unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows.”

The cancellations come after Healy slammed Malaysia’s LGBTQ laws as “f–king ridiculous” before sharing a prolonged kiss with bassist Ross MacDonald at the country’s Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (July 21). The following day, event organizer Future Sounds Asia announced that the remainder of the three-day fest had been canceled.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, and those convicted face up to 20 years behind bars.

The 1975’s Good Vibes set was cut short after Healy, who has long been outspoken about LGBTQ rights, ranted about Malaysia’s restrictive laws banning homosexuality.

“Because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool,” he told the crowd in video circulating on social media, noting that he had pulled the show Thursday in protest before deciding not to let fans down. “But, I’ve done this before. I’ve gone to a country where it’s — I don’t know what it f–king is. Ridiculous. F–king ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that and that. If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f–k off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good, and I’m f–ked off.”

The set ended early shortly after Healy kissed MacDonald, with the frontman telling festival-goers, “All right, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur. See you later.”

See the 1975’s Asian tour cancellation announcement below via We the Fest’s Twitter page.

23 Jul 2023

‘Special Ops: Lioness’ Is Now Streaming on Paramount+: How to Watch the Series for Free

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Zoe Saldaña leads a special forces unit in the thriller series, Special Ops: Lioness, which premiered on Paramount+ on Sunday (July 23).

Special Ops: Lioness follows Joe (Saldaña), a CIA operative whose boss (played by Nicole Kidman) pairs her with a young Marine (played by Laysla De Oliveira) for an anti-terrorism mission. The series, from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, is inspired by the Lioness program used by the U.S. Military.

The cast includes Michael Kelly, Morgan Freeman, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur and Hannah Love Lanie.

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Sheridan, Saldaña, David C. Glasser, Kidman, Wagner, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Malone and John Hillcoat are executive producers.

Keep reading for ways to stream Special Ops: Lioness — free of charge.

How to Watch Special Ops: Lioness for Free

Special Ops: Lioness is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+. The first two episodes dropped on July 23.  

Paramount+

$5.99/month after 7-day free trial

Want to stream the show for free? The first episode is streaming for free, but you can also enjoy a free trial for a week to stream episode two and additional episodes.

Paramount+ plans start at $5.99/month (or $59.99 a year) for the Essential plan and $11.99/month (or $199.99 a year) for the ad-free Premium plan with Showtime. Click here for more ways to land a free subscription.

How to Watch Paramount+ on Prime Video

Paramount+ is available on Prime Video along with other streaming channels such as Starz, AMC+ and Max.

Is Paramount+ free for Amazon Prime members? Unfortunately, Paramount+ does not come included in your Prime membership but you can still score a free trail for the first week.

Click the link below to launch your free trial. The Paramount+ on Prime Video subscription allows you to stream on Paramountplus.com and the Paramount+ app.

Paramount+ on Prime Video

$ $11.99/month after 7-day free trial

Looking for more ways to save on your streaming bill? Amazon offers student discounts on Paramount+ and other streaming channels when you subscribe to Prime Student. Paramount+ also offers a 25% discount for students. If you’re not a student, you can save on your bill by subscribing to an annual plan.

Whether its BET, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon or The Smithsonian Channel, Paramount+ has a wide variety of content including exclusive shows such as Fatal Attraction, The Family Stone, School Spirits, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Picard, 1923, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Why Women Kill, Before I Forget and iCarly.

You can also stream movies like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Scream VI, 80 for Brady and Top Gun: Maverick, sporting events, live TV and more on Paramount+.

Watch the trailer for Special Ops: Lioness below.

23 Jul 2023

Elon Musk Says Twitter Will Soon Change Its Logo to ‘X’

Elon Musk said Sunday (July 23) that he plans to change the logo of Twitter to an “X” from the famous blue bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year.

In a series of posts on his Twitter account starting just after 12 a.m. ET, Twitter’s owner said that he’s looking to make the change worldwide as soon as Monday.

“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk wrote on his account.

The change isn’t surprising given Musk’s long history with the name “X,” says Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce. The billionaire Tesla CEO tweeted last October that “buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.”

Musk’s rocket company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is commonly known as SpaceX. And in 1999, Musk founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal.

“Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X,” Musk tweeted Sunday.

But the change on Twitter was met with sharp criticism on the social media platform.

The change will be very confusing to a huge chunk of the Twitter’s audience, which has been already souring on the social platform given a slew of other major changes Musk has made, Adamson said.

“They won’t get it,” he said. “It’s a fitting end to a phenomenal unwinding of an iconic brand and business.”

Earlier this month, Musk put new curfews on his digital town square, a move that met with sharp criticism that it could drive away more advertisers and undermine its cultural influence as a trendsetter.

The higher tweet-viewing threshold is part of an $8-per-month subscription service that Musk rolled out earlier this year in an attempt to boost Twitter revenue. Revenue has dropped sharply since Musk took over the company and laid off roughly three-fourths of the workforce to slash costs and avoid bankruptcy.

In May, Musk hired longtime NBC Universal executive Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s CEO.

Luring advertisers is essential for Musk and Twitter after many fled in the early months after his takeover of the social media platform, fearing damage to their brands in the enveloping chaos. Advertisers have cut back on spending partly because of changes Musk has made that has allowed for more hateful content to flourish and that has offended a wider part of the platform’s audience.

Musk said in late April that advertisers had returned, but provided no specifics.

Musk’s move to change Twitter’s logo to an “X” also comes as Twitter faces new competition from Meta’s new app, Threads, launched earlier this month. It has been seen as an alternative for those who have been upset with Twitter.

Threads is being billed as a text-based version of Meta’s photo-sharing app Instagram that the company has said offers “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations.”

In the first five days of its launch, 100 million people had signed up for Threads, according to a post on Threads by Instagram head Adam Mosseri.

23 Jul 2023

Cody Johnson Offers Support to Jason Aldean Amid ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Controversy

During his concert on Friday night (July 21) in St. Louis, Cody Johnson let his thoughts be known about the controversy surrounding Jason Aldean‘s latest song and video, “Try That in a Small Town,” which was removed from rotation by CMT earlier in the week.

Graham Allen, host of the Dear America podcast, posted a video of “Til ‘You Can’t” hitmaker Johnson coming to Aldean’s defense during the show at St. Louis’ Chaifetz Arena.

“We live in a time where everyone gets p—-ed off at Jason Aldean for putting out a song,” Johnson said, adding, “If you’re videoing this, and Jason Aldean if you’re seeing this video, you keep it up, brother. You do you, boo boo.”

Johnson went on to note his interpretation of the song as a patriotic one, saying, “If being patriotic makes you an outlaw, then by God, I’ll be an outlaw.”

Artists including Travis Tritt, John Rich and Lee Greenwood have spoken out in defense of Aldean, while Aldean’s labelmate Blanco Brown defended Aldean, but emphasized that he strongly disagreed with the song itself. Artists such as Jason Isbell, Adeem the Artist, Margo Price and Sheryl Crow have slammed both the song and Aldean.

Aldean released “Try That in a Small Town” in May, and performed it during his Nissan Stadium set at CMA Fest in June. However, the video for the song was released last week; the clip and the song quickly began to draw criticism on social media from commenters who called the song racist and pro-gun. Commenters also noted the location of the video, which was filmed at the Maury County courthouse in Columbia, Tenn. — the same location where an 18-year-old Black man, Henry Choate, was lynched in 1927. CMT pulled the video from its rotation on Tuesday (July 18), a move that sparked both praise and backlash on social media.

In addition to releasing a statement about the controversy earlier in the week, Aldean also spoke out in a lengthy speech during his own concert on Friday night in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” Aldean told the crowd in a fan-captured video. “I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here. I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls— started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now, he said, as the crowd began to chant “USA! USA!”

He also added, “You guys know how it is this day and age, cancel culture… This day and age, if people don’t like what you say, they try to make sure they can cancel you, which means try to ruin your life. Ruin everything. One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bullshit. I saw country music fans rally like I’ve never seen before and it was pretty badass, I gotta say. Thank you guys so much. I know a lot of you guys grew up like I did. You kind of have the same values, the same principles that I have, which is we want to take our kids to a movie and not worry about some asshole coming in there shooting up the theater.”

Before launching into “Try That in a Small Town,” Aldean told the crowd, “So somebody asked me, ‘Hey man, you think you’re going to play this song tonight?’ The answer was simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week.”

After the controversy erupted, Aldean’s sales and streams have surged, according to preliminary reports from Luminate, and the video has now earned 14 million views on YouTube.

23 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Debuts ‘No Body, No Crime’ With Haim at Eras Tour Concert in Seattle

Taylor Swift gave the first live performance of her Evermore song “No Body, No Crime” with Haim during her Eras Tour stop at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Saturday (July 22).

To assist with the live unveiling, the pop superstar brought out longtime friends the Haim sisters, who were featured on the studio version of the 2020 track and serve as the opening act for the remainder of her Eras Tour in North America.

“No Body, No Crime” — which peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 2020 — replaced “Tis the Damn Season” during the Evermore portion of Swift’s usual Eras Tour setlist.

Swift’s team-up with Haim in Seattle arrived almost exactly one year after the sibling trio invited Tay to help perform “Gasoline” and “Love Story” at London’s O2 Arena on July 21, 2022. Swift appears on the recorded version of “Gasoline, which was originally on the expanded edition of Haim’s 2020 album, Women in Music Pt. III.

Swift and Haim have been best pals dating back to the 1989 World Tour, when the multi-Grammy winner first had the sister band open for one of her tours. Since then, the four women have collaborated on “No Body, No Crime” and joined forces again in 2022 for Swift’s “Bejweled” music video.

The North American leg of Swift’s Eras Tour will continue at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Sunday (July 23) before heading to Santa Clara, Calif.’s Levi’s Stadium (July 28-29) and closing at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium (Aug. 3-5 and 7-9). Haim is among the opening acts for the remaining dates.

Watch Swift debut “No Body, No Crime” with Haim in Seattle here.

22 Jul 2023

Paramore Postpones San Francisco Concert Hours Before Showtime ‘Due to Sickness’

Just hours before Paramore would be taking the stage Saturday night (July 22), the band canceled a concert at San Francisco’s Chase Center due to illness. The show has already been rescheduled.

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“Due to sickness within the touring party, we will be rescheduling our show tonight at Chase Center in San Francisco to Monday, August 7, 2023,” a statement posted on Paramore’s Twitter account said.

“Previously purchased tickets are valid for the rescheduled date. If you cannot attend the rescheduled date and would like a refund, instructions will be sent to all ticket purchasers and refunds will be offered for the next 7 days,” read the post.

The note, which was also shared on Chase Center’s social media accounts, concluded with “We look forward you all soon at the next Paramore show.”

Paramore’s next concert is scheduled for Monday, July 24 at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

The band is currently on its This Is Why Tour in support of its studio album of the same name, and set to wrap the trek in August. It was recently announced that Paramore is heading to Europe as a supporting act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, beginning on May 9, 2024.

See the full announcement about Saturday night’s concert below and keep up-to-date on all of Paramore’s tour dates here.

22 Jul 2023

The Kid LAROI Performs Surprise Set at Hotel Bar After Malaysia Music Festival Is Canceled

The Kid LAROI didn’t let fans down when Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival — which he was scheduled to headline Saturday (July 22) — was unexpectedly called off.

The fest’s sudden cancelation came after The 1975’s set on Friday, when frontman Matty Healy slammed the country’s restrictive LGBTQ laws as “f—ing ridiculous” and shared a long kiss with bandmate Ross MacDonald on stage. In an official statement, Good Vibes noted the decision adhered to a directive from the Ministry of Communications and Digital, which has an “unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws.”

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So on Saturday night, with no concert to headline in Kuala Lumpur, LAROI brought an abbreviated version of his show to a local hotel bar.

“Two things, before I start. I’m very drunk, number one. Ever since they canceled the show, I had no other option but to go right to the bar. So here I am,” he told a modest, but enthusiastic, crowd that began gathering.

“I’m with my friends today, and I just figured since everything got canceled and I’m here anyway, I may as well come and do a couple songs,” LAROI said to cheers. “Thanks to the hotel for letting me do this.”

LAROI kicked off his short performance with “Thousand Miles.” Although the hotel bar set list order is unclear, based off of various fan-captured video clips, he also sang “Stay,” “Without You” and “Diva.”

At the end of his impromptu mini set, he joked that had he been able to perform for them on the festival stage that night, “I’d be way better, I wouldn’t be drunk and I’d actually know how to talk to you guys.”

Earlier on his Instagram Stories, LAROI had posted, “touched down & found out the festival is canceled… I love you Malaysia, I’m sorry,” and then shared a selfie with fans at the hotel. He wrote, “Met some new friends what’s uuuupppp.”

“Might sing some songs in the hotel bar fk it,” he announced over Stories.

See several clips from his surprise hotel bar performance below.

22 Jul 2023

Drake Calls Out Fan for Throwing Vape at Him on Stage in Brooklyn: ‘You Got Some Real Life Evaluating to Do’

Another tour, another fan baffling everyone by throwing something directly at the performer on stage. Thursday night (July 20), Drake had to address a concertgoer who made the very questionable decision to toss a vape at him from the crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

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The venue posted a video clip of the unfortunate moment on its social media channels the day after the show, along with a warning in the caption: “Reminder: You cannot vape at Barclays Center.”

“Did you throw a vape up here? Come on,” Drake said at the show, upon seeing the item on the ground by his feet.

He gave a disapproving look at the audience and asked, “Hey … Who threw this? Who threw the vape?”

“There’s no way you’re taking life seriously if you think I’m gonna pick this vape up and vape with you at the f—ing Barclays Center,” Drake scolded.

“You got some real life evaluating to do,” said Drake, taking a closer look at it and continuing, “throwing this f—ing lemon mint vape up here, thinking I’m about to vape with you at the Barclays.”

Sadly, this isn’t the first time Drake has had something thrown at him at a concert this month. He was hit in the arm by a cell phone on the opening night of his All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage in Chicago, though he didn’t comment on the incident from the stage that night.

Out of line audience members throwing things at the artists they’ve come to see live has become a stupid, dangerous trend in recent months. In just June and July: Bebe Rexha was injured when a cell phone was hurled at her face, a fan tossed her dead mother’s ashes up onto P!nk’s stage, Kelsea Ballerini was struck by an object mid-song, someone sent a sex toy flying at Lil Nas X, a mysterious object pelted Harry Styles near the eye and left him wincing in pain, and Latto threatened “Throw it again, I’mma beat your ass” when a fan flung something at her.

When Taylor Swift walked offstage to wave at screaming fans in the obstructed view stands at the end of a recent show, she had to cover her face and dodge friendship bracelets being thrown at her.

See Drake’s reaction to an electronic cigarette being thrown his way in the video below.

22 Jul 2023

YNW Melly Murder Trial Ends in Mistrial after Jury Deadlocks

A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial Saturday (July 22) in the South Florida trial of rapper YNW Melly on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago.

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The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will likely choose to retry the case with a new jury. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit a defendant.

Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked, but relented after they came back a third time.

Prosecutors say YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, shot Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. while they were all inside a Jeep. Williams and Thomas were both part of the YNW collective, known respectively as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.

Prosecutors said the shooting was part of a gang action, while defense attorneys said that claim lacks credibility because Demons and the victims were close friends.

According to prosecutors, Demons, Williams and Thomas were riding in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, after a recording session in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 26, 2018. They say Demons fatally shot Williams and Thomas. Henry is charged as an accomplice in the case and will be tried separately.

After killing Williams and Thomas, prosecutors said Demons and Henry drove the bodies to an area near the Everglades, where they shot at the back and passenger sides of Henry’s Jeep from the outside to make it look like Williams and Thomas had been the victims of a drive-by shooting.

But prosecutors say ballistics tests show the pair were shot from inside the Jeep.

Defense lawyers focused on the fact that the gun was never recovered. They also told jurors that YNW Melly had no apparent motive for the crime.

YNW Melly had his breakout in 2017 and went on to work with Kanye West on “Mixed Personalities,” which was released in January 2019, a month before Demons, 24, was arrested on murder charges.