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13 Jul 2023

Roc Nation Sports Signs Deal With Italian Soccer League Series A

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One would think that being a billionaire would have Jay-Z just kicking back and enjoying the empire that he’s built for himself but nope! The man is still out here making big time deals and continuing to invest for himself and his family.

According to Digital Music News, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports has just come to terms with Italy’s top soccer league, Series A, to create a “strategic partnership” that’ll have Roc Nation Sports promoting the Italian league throughout North America via events, digital content, and marketing activations as only they can. Y’all know Roc Nation Sports got the juice for that kind of stuff. It’s Jay-Z, b.

Digital Music News reports:

Roc Nation and Serie A have had a working partnership since 2019, and in 2020, Roc Nation inked a deal with Serie A side AC Milan to host an event to raise support for workers during the height of the COVID pandemic. The event was hosted by DJ Khaled and featured performances from artists like Alicia Keys and Kelly Rowland, with all proceeds going to charity.

“We are super excited to help Serie A expand its brand throughout America while helping to develop meaningful commercial partnerships along with enhanced brand visibility that will lead to continued growth for one of the world’s premier football leagues,” says Roc Nation president Michael Yormark.

“We spent some time together in New York, and then he pushed me to return to Inter,” said Lukaku. “He’s a person who follows football a lot; he always follows Inter. He’s truly a nice person.”

Y’all know that money that the sport of soccer generates worldwide ain’t no joke either. Jay is smart to get into that arena. Cristiano Ronaldo earns $214 million per year for God’s sake! They know its money to be had in that field that most Americans tend to overlook. Soccer’s just not our thing, but with Roc Nation putting some muscle behind Series A, y’all might become a bit more familiar with the sport in the coming future.

Still, they might have their work cut out for them as Italian soccer does have an issue with racism as many of their Black players have been subjected to nasty racial rhetoric on the field. It got to the point where Roc Nation President, Michael Yormark, felt compelled to address it in a statement saying, “The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism rather than punish the victim of the abuse. I am certain that the footballing world shares the same sentiment.”

We’ll have to wait and see how this new venture pans out for Jay and his Roc Nation conglomerate.

What do y’all think of Roc Nation getting down with an Italian soccer league? Let us know in the comments section below.

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13 Jul 2023

Travis Barker Celebrates 30th Flight Since 2008 Crash, Credits Kourtney Kardashian’s ‘Healing Love’

2023 is the year of milestones for Travis Barker. Not only are he and wife Kourtney Kardashian eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first child together, the Blink-182 drummer is also celebrating his 30th flight since a devastating 2008 crash altered his life forever.

“Just flew for the 30th time since my plane crash,” the Grammy-nominated artist posted Wednesday on Threads. “Wouldn’t be able to tour or enjoy life again the way I do without the healing love of my amazing wife. I love you.” The Kardashians star returned the love, reposting her husband’s testimony and adding “So proud of my husband.” Barker and Kardashian married in May of last year after just over a year of dating.

In September 2008, a plane carrying Barker, Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein and four other passengers crashed during take-off, killing all aboard except for Barker and Goldstein. The following year, Goldstein died of an accidental drug overdose, leaving Barker, who always had a fear of flights, as the sole remaining survivor of the fatal crash. The drummer had burns on 65% of his body and spent 11 weeks in the hospital following the crash. Barker now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and he did not fly on a plane again until 2021, a few months after he met then-girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian.

The couple will soon see their dynamic evolve once their baby boy arrives. On June 18, the eldest Kardashian sister posted a picture of Barker playfully drumming on her pregnant belly with the caption “Overwhelmed with gratitude and joy for God’s blessing and plan.”

Click here to read Barker’s post.

13 Jul 2023

Billie’s ‘Barbie’ Song, Jimmie Allen’s Countersuit, Peso Pluma’s Cover & More | Billboard News

Peso Pluma opens up about reaching No. 1 with his tracks ‘Ella Baila Sola’ with Eslabon Armado and ‘BZRP: Music Sessions Vol. 55’ with Bizarrap, how his life has changed since his recent success, achieving his dream, and more! Billie Eilish has released her ‘Barbie’ movie soundtrack ballad “What Was I Made For?” Jimmie Allen countersues two women who have accused him of sexual assault. He filed documents in Nashville federal court “to protect my reputation and refute these claims.”

Evan Burke:
Peso Pluma is taking over the charts and the cover of Billboard. Billie Eilish releases her emotional self-directed music video for the ‘Barbie’ movie. Jimmie Allen has countersued in the sexual harassment and abuse case against him and we’re running down 2015’s biggest songs of the summer.

Evan Burke:
Welcome to Billboard News. It’s Thursday, July 13th, and we’ve got a brand-new cover story with Mexican superstar Peso Pluma.

Evan Burke:
Billie Eilish’s contribution to the ‘Barbie’ soundtrack is here and it’s full of hidden gems. Let us break it down for you.

Evan Burke:
After much teasing, Billie Eilish dropped a hypnotic track off the ‘Barbie’ soundtrack and she even directed the music video herself. In it she’s rocking Barbie’s signature hair, opens up the 1962 solo in the spotlight Barbie trunk and pulls out miniature Barbie versions of some of her most iconic looks. The yellow outfit from “Bellyache,” her Chanel look from the Oscars, the black number with chains from the “Lovely” music video, her camo getup from TRL, her other yellow outfit from the “Bad Guy” music video and of course her black-and-green look from the Grammys.

Evan Burke:
Billie posted a snippet of the one-shot music video to IG explaining how it all came together and ended the post with,”This video makes me cry. It means so much to me and I hope it will mean just as much to you. I don’t have much to say other than that. I think it will speak for itself.”

Watch the full video above!

13 Jul 2023

Ice Cube Claps Back At Those Criticizing Photos With RFK Jr.

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Ice Cube is firing back at social media critics taking him to task for apparently being chummy with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a recently posted photo.

The Hip-Hop icon and businessman has come under scrutiny after the son of the slain Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy was in attendance at the BIG3 Basketball event held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday (July 9th). The Democratic Party presidential candidate and his campaign manager, Dennis Kucinich posed for a photo with Cube afterward which was shared to Twitter. “@Dennis_Kucinich and I spent a wonderful evening with one of our country’s most influential and outspoken civil rights leaders @icecube!”, the caption read.

The photo didn’t sit well with people online, who immediately voiced their displeasure at the West Coast legend being in a picture with Kennedy, who has been a notorious anti-vaxxer and COVID-19 denier. They also had jokes for the 69-year-old Kennedy calling him “a civil rights legend.” But it didn’t take long for the “Steady Mobbin’” rapper to issue his own tweet in response. “For all the simple minded short bus people out there. A picture is not an endorsement, dummy. Now get your ass over to bungalow 51 and STFU,” he wrote.

One fan directly wrote to Ice Cube expressing disappointment: “My brotha ice cube, I’ve been listening to you since 1993 you went from arrest the president, fuk the police, straight outta Compton, the list goes on,” they wrote. “I’m highly disappointed in you brotha, what’s your mission? Because of you I still rep the West pls tell me your not selling out.” Ice Cube’s reply was fiery: “Sellout? I work for myself. I’m self-made. How do you feed your family??? How much do you sell your time for per hour on your job?”

The AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted artist did garner some support from fans as well as from his peers, such as Chuck D of Public Enemy who tweeted out a sketch of him, writing: “Know this fact. @icecube has gone into every one of these ‘industries’ many of the masses worship… on HIS own rule and as his OWN MAN. A game that’s twisted many into demise. Not him. Know that. Seen the same dude since the day I met him. He KNOWS who he is. Know who YOU are.” Cube replied by quote-tweeting, “Thanks Big Bruh.”

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13 Jul 2023

‘Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas’: How to Watch the Documentary for Free

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Imagine Dragons are bringing a concert straight to your living room with a new documentary special. On Friday (July 14), Hulu is dropping Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas, a concert experience that will showcase the rise of the band from their early days of playing shows at casinos and dive bars to becoming the sensation we know and love today.

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Hulu and Imagine Dragons took to Instagram on June 21 to announce the special with a trailer teasing what to expect.

“This is the first tour I knew we were Imagine Dragons,” lead singer Dan Reynolds said in the trailer. Throughout the rest of the video is clips of the bandmates giving sit-down interviews as well as scenes from their tour and performance in Las Vegas.

Throughout the film, you’ll get to hear from the bandmates themselves as they delve into their past as a small indie band and the thoughts and feelings they have toward what they’ve grown into. All of that leads to their performance in Las Vegas — a city significant to the band, as it’s where they grew and shaped their music together.

Keep reading to learn how to stream Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas.

How to Watch Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas

The documentary special is a Hulu Original, which means it’s exclusive to the streamer. Those who already have a subscription can watch it for free, but you’ll need to subscribe in order to watch it.

Not subscribed to Hulu? Now’s your chance to join for free for the first month as the streamer is offering a 30-day free trial. Hulu’s most popular membership plan is the ad-supported package, which is $7.99/month. For a commercial-free experience, you can subscribe to Hulu’s premium plan for $14.99/month, which gives you everything from the ad-supported plan, plus you can download programs and stream them offline.

Hulu

$From $7.99/month after 30 days free

For additional savings, bundle Hulu with Disney+ and ESPN+ for $12.99/month. Don’t want to bundle? Hulu members can add Disney+ by itself for an extra $2.99/month and additional channels like Starz for an added charge. Additionally, students can subscribe to Hulu for just $1.99 a month.

Looking for live TV? Try Hulu + Live TV for $69.99/month. The streaming package comes with over 75 live channels, DVR storage plus access to Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. Hulu users can even create up to six profiles under one account and stream from up to two different screens at once. Hulu is also accessible from your smart TV, laptop, notebook or gaming console.

Watch the trailer for Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=ykOJpcFNOig&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

13 Jul 2023

Lil Wayne Performed ‘A Milli’ To Open Up The 2023 ESPY Awards

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This current generation of Hip-Hoppers may not remember the reign of Lil Wayne in the mid 2000s, but us older heads do, so when Weezy took the stage at the 2023 ESPYS to open up the night with a classic hit, y’all know we was all in our retro feelings.

Before the awards were handed out last night and numerous athletes got their well-deserved flowers, Lil Wayne opened up the festivities with a rendition of his classic 2008 hit, “A Milli.” Needless to say, the audience got hype and turnt up as they traveled back in time and bounced to the beat the same way they did when they wore baggy clothes and Bape sneakers to boot. Tiffany Haddish throwing her arms up with excitement pretty much summed up how everyone over 30 years old was feeling in that moment.

Aside from the dope performance, the night was filled with numerous moments that had social media buzzing including statements from your favorite athletes about their future plans and others just having some fun at the events.

Stereo Gum reports:

There were plenty of news stories coming out of last night’s ESPYs: LeBron James announcing that he’s not retiring, Patrick Mahomes showing up looking like Riff Raff. But the only thing that really makes sense for this website — another H.E.R. performance on another awards show doesn’t count — was Wayne bringing back his 2008 smash “A Milli,” giving it slight lyrical tweaks to reflect the occasion: “I want my NIL, so I’m going back to college/ Tattoos on my face, you could call me Dennis Rodman.” He also threw in a line about “Damar Hamlin doin’ fine.”

Check out Lil Wayne take everyone back to 2008 below, and let us know if you felt that retro vibe during his performance in the comments section below.



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13 Jul 2023

Camila Cabello’s Meditative Calm Content Is Now Available on Spotify

Calm and Spotify announced on Thursday (July 13) that they’ve partnered up to make mindfulness more accessible in day-to-day life.

11 of the meditation app’s shows are now on the streaming platform, specially curated to support mental wellbeing by helping improve sleep, reducing stress and anxiety and building mindful habits. Therefore, those without a Calm subscription can still enjoy the practices the platform has to offer.

Among the Calm content now available on Spotify is Camila Cabello‘s popular Breathe Into It sessions, in which the “Havana” singer discusses the unpredictable nature of life, and how she found grace, peace and positivity amid struggles with boundaries and social media. The superstar has often cited meditation as a useful practice in her life, noting that turning off social media and opting to meditate “helps me so much.”

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Those looking for a dose of mindfulness can also enjoy episodes of Calm for Sleep, Calm for Stress & Anxiety, Calm for Meditation, Calm for Beginners, Calm for Kids, and episodes of Daily Mindfulness featuring voices from Jay Shetty, Mel Mah and Tamara Levitt.

Stream Cabello’s Breathe Into It episodes on Spotify here, and if you’re looking for more, sign up for Calm here.

13 Jul 2023

Selena Gomez’s Sister Gracie Dyed Her Hair Purple to Celebrate ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’

It’s Speak Now (Gracie’s Version)!

Following the release of Taylor Swift‘s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Selena Gomez‘s little sister, 9-year-old Gracie Elliott Teefy, wanted to represent in true Swiftie style and dyed her hair Speak Now purple to celebrate the album’s arrival.

In a video posted to Gomez’s Instagram Stories on Thursday (July 13), Gracie sports vibrant purple locks pulled back into a low ponytail. “Why’d you dye your hair purple?” Gomez asks her in the video, to which her sister simply replies, “For Speak Now.” Gomez presses, “Oh did you? Will you ever dye your hair a color for my album?” After a brief moment of hesitation, Gracies says, “Sure. I will.” The Rare Beauty founder captioned the sweet clip, “When Speak Now comes out.”

Gracie isn’t the only one who celebrated the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with new hair — Swift’s longtime friend and “Castles Crumbling” collaborator Hayley Williams switched up her hair and added purple to celebrate the release of the record before stepping out for Paramore‘s July 6 tour date in New Orleans.

“Brian [O’Connor]’s put some purple stuff in my hair ’cause there’s some stuff happening tonight at midnight,” Williams told the camera in a getting-ready video. “So y’all better speak now or forever hold your peace,” O’Connor — Williams’ hair and makeup artist — added, referencing “Speak Now.” Williams also donned glittery silver purple eyeshadow on her eyelids to match the streaks in her hair.

See Gomez’s story about Gracie before it disappears here.

13 Jul 2023

How HBO Max’s ‘VGLY’ Captures the Current Zeitgeist of Mexican Music

When the producers of VGLY first came up with the idea in 2018 for a series that would capture the ever-evolving landscape of Mexican music, they may have been ahead of their time.

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Produced by Candle Media’s Exile Content Studio and directed by Sebastián Sariñana, the 13-episode series made its debut over the summer on HBO Max, with renowned Mexican artist Camilo Lara (Mexican Institute of Sound) as its music producer.

Season one follows a crew of young visionaries (from rappers to producers and creative directors) on their quest to stand out in a crowded field of emerging urbano artists in Mexico City’s neighborhood “La Guerrero.” The journey to the top is anything but smooth sailing. Along the way, the aspiring rapper- singer VGLY (Benny Emmanuel) and his friends learn how to navigate the industry the hard way. He even starts beef with nemesis Lil Vato, played by corridos tumbados pioneer Natanael Cano, which only leads to back-and-forth diss tracks.



The series — renewed this month for a season two — is soundtracked by original music overseen by Lara and songs licensed by Exile Music (which also marketed and distributed the soundtrack), which perfectly capture the zeitgeist of música mexciana today. Featuring trap, cumbia, reggaetón and corridos tumbados, “this series came at the right moment,” says Lara, who’s produced music for award-winning films such as Coco and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. “We all knew there were huge things happening in Mexico with new producers and artists — trap was bubbling and so were corridos tumbados — so this series is polaroid of what’s been happening and that’s really beautiful.”

For the series’ original music soundtrack, Lara worked with a handful of emerging producers and artists in Mexico to create a wide-ranging album powered by hip-hop, trap and corridos featuring Cano, VGLY and other emerging acts from the series including Triana and Trippy B. “The idea for the music was to have these songs that were produced by young producers that are actually working in the hip-hop world and are part of the landscape,” explains Lara. “Mexico City also serves as a canvas because if you think about it, everything is a key player in that city so we wanted to deconstruct the sounds to create our own universe.”

VGLY‘s universe is a reflection of not only the versatile new generation of Mexican artists but the spotlight that the country has today with Mexican music reaching global masses. “I would say it’s about time,” Lara says categorically. “It’s something I would fight in the early days. Back then I was trying to convince the world that cumbia was cool, then it happened. The same with regional Mexican music. This new generation of artists, they live in both worlds: the digital and the traditional. They understood that music is popular art so you have to reshape it, remodel it, change it. That’s the beauty of it. I couldn’t be more proud of what is happening.”

13 Jul 2023

Elton John’s Farewell Tour Comes to an End With $939 Million and 6 Million Tickets

The time has come: Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road played its final show on Saturday, July 8. Almost five years after launching, the tour grossed $939.1 million and sold 6 million tickets according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

John announced his impending retirement from touring with the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour back in January 2018, ultimately kicking off the jaunt in September of that year. He presented it as a three-year goodbye, and other than extending the timeline by two years due to COVID-19’s global shutdown, he stuck to his promise. John maintains that he does not want to tour again, but noted he might play sporadic shows in the future.

After claiming the title of the highest-grossing tour in Boxscore history earlier this year, John extended his lead with 49 arena dates in Europe, following an arena run in the Spring of 2019 and a sweep of stadiums last year. There were four North American stints, also volleying between arenas and stadiums, plus two blocks of shows in Oceania.

After all of those shows, all around the world, John made it to the top of the heap. Watch below as, from September 2018 to July 2023, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour surpassed the biggest tours ever on its way to No. 1.

John has been patient, ranking among the biggest acts on various Boxscore charts since 2018. Starting that year, he was No. 22 on the year-end Top Tours chart, then No. 4 in 2019, No. 1 in 2020, and returned in 2022 at No. 2. In between, he was No. 1 on midyear charts for 2019 and 2020, and then No. 2 in 2022 and 2023.

John has also been the king of Billboard’s monthly Top Tours chart. He crowned the inaugural list for February 2019 and returned to the top six more times, each time extending his lead for the most months on top. He was No. 2 another eight times, plus five months between Nos. 3-5.

In all, that’s 20 months in the top five of 27 total appearances. Charts for June and July haven’t yet been published, though John will likely score his 28th and 29th appearances when they do.

John’s world tour divides its 330 shows (one of those, his set at Glastonbury Festival, does not factor into his gross or attendance since it’s a multi-artist festival) into 183 in North America, 101 in Europe and 46 in Oceania. See below for how his grosses in each continent stacked on top of one another, combining to more than $930 million.

Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road

North America – specifically mainland U.S. and Canada – was the most fruitful region for John’s farewell tour, amounting to $567.7 million and 3.5 million tickets. That’s 61% of the world tour’s total gross. Europe comes next with $218 million and 1.5 million tickets, followed by Australia and New Zealand, combining for $134 million and 889,000 tickets.

When Ed Sheeran set his record and wrapped The Divide Tour in August 2019, John’s tour had only grossed $217.8 million from its first 108 shows. With less than a third of Sheeran’s gross, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was too young to be among predictions for all-time challengers. Plus, the tour had stuck to arenas, limiting its potential ceiling. It wasn’t until May 2022 that John stretched to stadiums.

The arena portion of John’s tour ended last spring, when it had already grossed $488.7 million from 219 shows. In the 61 stadium dates that followed, he added $341.5 million. All said, the stadium portion amounts to just 19% of all Farewell shows, but 36% of its earnings.

After breaking Sheeran’s record, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour became the first concert tour to gross $800 million and then $900 million.

Further, John’s final shows further extend his lead as the highest-grossing and best-selling soloist in Boxscore history. Over 1,623 reported shows, he’s grossed $1.98 billion and sold 20.6 million tickets. Farewell tours haven’t always actually been a final farewell, but if this is it, John is ending his historic touring career comfortably on top.