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12 Jun 2023

20 Questions With Gloria Estefan Ahead of Her Induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame

When Gloria Estefan becomes part of the Songwriters Hall of Fame this Thursday (June 15) in New York, it will be a historic moment for the Hispanic community in the United States.

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“Gloria is the first female Latina to be inducted into the SHOF,” confirms Linda Moran, the organization’s president/CEO, to Billboard. She will be honored alongside one of her favorite musicians, Glen Ballard, as well as Sade Adu, Snoop Dogg, Liz Rose, Jeff Lynn and Teddy Riley.

Since rising to stardom in the 1980s as the lead vocalist for the Miami Sound Machine — alongside her husband, visionary producer Emilio Estefan — Gloria Estefan has helped infuse Latino flavor into English-language pop music, breaking barriers with hits like “Conga” and “Rhythm is Gonna Get You,” and singing at the same time en Español.

On the charts, she has placed 29 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including three No. 1 hits (“Anything For You” in 1988, “Don’t Wanna Lose You” in 1989 and “Coming Out of the Dark ” in 1991) — as well as 30 hits on Hot Latin Songs, 15 of which reached the top spot (from “No Me Vuelvo A Enamorar” in 1986 to “Hotel Nacional” in 2012).

With credits that also include “Words Get In The Way” and “Let’s Get Loud,” the Cuban-born Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning superstar has sold over 100 million records worldwide and continues to write and record music. Last year, she released the Estefan Family Christmas album with her family, and most recently she co-wrote “Gonna Be You” with Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper and Debbie Harry for the comedy film 80 For Brady. (Oh, and she also returned to the screen as an actress in a 2022 remake of Father of the Bride, opposite Andy Garcia.)

“It still makes me very happy to write songs, and it’s always a surprise when something comes along,” Estefan tells Billboard Español. “It is nice that it has happened so many times and that it is receiving such a great honor. As long as I have something to say, you’ll be hearing from me.”

Among this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame honorees, Estefan is one of four who first rose to fame as part of a group (the others are Sade’s Sade Adu; ELO’s Jeff Lynne and Guy’s Teddy Riley.) She’s also one of three who were born outside the United States (Adu was born in Nigeria, Lynne in England.)

This is the latest in a series of important recognitions for the artist, who in 2017 was awarded at the Kennedy Center Honors and in 2019 received the Gershwin Award for Popular Song along her husband.

Below, Gloria Estefan answers 20 questions ahead of her induction in Songwriters Hall of Fame.

1. Congratulations on this new recognition. How did you find out?

Emilio. Everyone calls Emilio when they are going to give him good news. First, he is my manager — but he likes to be the one who tells me. He came into the kitchen and I already know [something is going on from] his face. I said, “What is it?” “They’re going to give you the prize.” We have been nominated for several years and you never know. There are many songwriters who deserve this. I’m very happy.

2. As a Cuban immigrant, how do you receive this distinction?

Look, as an immigrant — not so much for me, because I think we came here to do what we love. What this means is that there is the freedom in this country to be able to achieve whatever dream you have. For me, lyrics and music have been something that had me sit with the records and read who wrote everything. I read the lyrics, I absorbed them! It helped me through very difficult times.

So as a young female musician back then, the music of others was my lifeline in difficult times, with my father’s illness [Ed. note: Estefan’s father has suffered from multiple sclerosis since she was a child.] Music has always been the most beautiful thing in my life, so the fact that my songs are that for other people is something really special — it’s a privilege that I don’t take lightly.

3. What was the first song you wrote and what do you remember from that moment?

I did a parody about our lives at my high school alma mater. [Laughs.] I actually did poetry as a kid, but that has to be the first song I ever wrote: a parody of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Do you know whose music it was? There was a comedian named Tom Lehrer, and he had all these songs that were funny — but serious, intellectual, they were smart and he had something to say. So I put lyrics about my school in one of his songs. That was my first song. I was 14 or 15.

4. What was the last one that you wrote, even if you haven’t published it?

Just before Thanksgiving. I felt inspired by certain things, I went out and I was with my guitar sitting there in the patio and I did it in about an hour. I really want a country star to sing it for me. It is in English. I still can’t [say what it’s called], but I like it a lot.

5. Which of your songs is your favorite or has a special place in your heart?

What kind of question is that? Do you have any children?

Three, and they are all my favorites.

Ahhh, there you have it. There are some special ones for different reasons. “Con Los Años Que Me Quedan,” I had written that song in English for the album I was working on and it didn’t fit into it. When we were writing Mi Tierra, I told Emilio, “I have a melody that I love that I think would be a tremendous song” — I reminded him of it, because I always play everything for him. And he said, “Oh, and I have the idea of ​​a hook for that in Spanish.” We sat down and rewrote it. That one is special, because it’s the first one we wrote together.

[Also] “Anything For You,” our first No. 1 [on the Hot 100]. It kind of went through me — it wasn’t really thought out, it was like an inspiration of a feeling and it just came out.

6. How is your songwriting process? Do you have any ritual that works for you or do songs just come to you?

When I was in all the hustle and bustle of writing original records, at that time, yes: You’d finish the shows and you’d go into the studio, you’d have to write, you got ready for that. My life was a lot less complicated back the; I just was touring or doing a record, one thing or the other. Now there are endless things that pull you — but look, that song [that I mentioned before] was born naturally.

Every time I write I think, “I will never be able to do it again.” It’s like being pregnant [Laughs.] When you have a baby, you say never again, and then you think, “Wow, this didn’t exist before, how nice to be the vehicle for that.” Inspiration absolutely requires an idea, the hook or an emotion that you are expressing. With each one it is different. There is a craft — which is knowing that I can do this verse better, I can find another way to express this or a better rhyme for it — and there is inspiration, which is 15 minutes.

7. Who have been your biggest influences as a songwriter?

Carole King, as a child. Stevie Wonder. Elton John. The Beatles; I was the biggest Beatles fan. All of them. I admired the novelty of it, like Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I would listen to it and listen to it and listen to it, and I would read the lyrics and say, “What is this about?” because I was a girl. And it kind of opened my mind. That and Stevie Wonder. Songs in the Key of Life, Innervisions. It’s not that I said “I want to be like them”, it’s that their music touched my soul.

8. How do you enjoy writing more today? Alone or accompanied?

Look, when you are looking for something new, obviously the fusion is spectacular. Me and Diane Warren — she doesn’t write with anyone, she’s lonely, and so am I. I prefer to write alone, because a lot goes on in my head. I always write by hand, because I like to have a big notebook to put all the ideas I’m having — but with her, something else came out, we would bounce things off each other and sometimes we’d end up with a really dirty skit before the song. ¡Ay Dios mío! We laughed a lot, so that was enjoyable. Emilio likes to write down all the ideas, and then I develop them. But I definitely like it better alone.

9. From the Latin music market, who have you enjoyed working with?

[Peruvian singer-songwriter] Gian Marco is spectacular, he’s a poet. I would listen to his songs and say, “Gian Marco, this can sound amazing in English,” and Emilio would give him some ideas. For example, “Tu Fotografía” arose from a photo of Emilio’s parents getting married in Cuba that we had in the living room — and Emilio said that every day, when he saw that photograph and saw his parents, you know, he could see his whole life ahead, and what would happen when he was not there.

Then Gian Marco was inspired. I think we were in the Dominican Republic when we wrote that song, and when he gave it to me, I thought of my [own] father and said, “Your picture.” I have lived my father more in photos in reality, so it is a spectacular collaboration. I admire him very much.

10. As a songwriter, are you more of a morning person or a night person?

Oh, most of my songs have been born between midnight and 6:00 a.m., when my husband is asleep, my children are asleep, no one bothers me. And I think that 3 in the morning is very spiritual cosmically. Most people are sleeping in our hemisphere and it kind of opens the channel of inspiration a bit. But the other day I wrote at 5:00 in the afternoon out there. It was beautiful. There was sunset, it was very windy, but I had the inspiration, so.

11. What song by another artist, in English or Spanish, would you have liked to write?

So many. I always say “Man in the Mirror,” that Glenn Ballard worked on with Michael [Jackson] — and he’s also being inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I really admire his music: Jagged Little Pill [by Alanis Morrissette], I still hear it and go “wow, this is groundbreaking” — and it’s because it’s real, a lot came out from Alanis’ emotion at the time. But the songwriters, they nailed it. It was spectacular.

12. Any contemporary singer-songwriter that has impressed you lately?

There are many. I love Rosalía; I think she sings and has chops and does interesting things. When I’m at home getting ready, I put on pop music, and I love to see that there are so many women [having success right now]. And I love country. It’s hard to point out a singer-songwriter right now, besides Gian Marco who I love. I just did a song for Diane Warren with Debbie Harry, Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle and Cyndi Lauper (“Gonna Be You” for the movie 80 For Brady). That was fun.

13. What did you enjoy the most about that experience?

I actually liked the song — I thought it captured the ’80s, that era a little bit, and it’s 80-year-olds in the movie and we were able to collaborate with women who in the ’80s were doing our thing. So, it was interesting. It was good. And to be with Dolly — I love Dolly Parton, I admire her a lot.

14. Is there a perfect song for you?

The only perfect song is the one that moves your soul, makes you cry, or gives you goosebumps. The one that touches someone’s heart or mind. That’s the beauty of music, that there is an incredible variety. I get moved by many genres, many artists.

15. Can you name one song that moves you in particular?

“Chances Are” by Johnny Mathis. It takes me back to a time in my life when I was a little girl, my mother would put the record on and I would sit down and listen to it. Later I bought the record and played it. Johnny Mathis has a voice that means a lot to me in my life, it’s a time.

16. Last year we saw you again as an actress in Father of the Bride, and this year Emilio plays the father of Jeff Bezos in Bezos: The Beginning. Did you give him any advice or guidance for his acting debut?

Emilio shouldn’t be given advice… Jeff Bezos’ father wanted Emilio, and Emilio told him: “I don’t memorize anything, I’m going to say what I want.” [Laughs.] Only Emilio Estefan can do that. He invented his own script, and he did a spectacular job, because it really came from his heart. I tell him jokingly that he’s on the English pill, because all of a sudden he’s speaking perfect English — and I’m like, “What happened?”

17. As part of a family of musicians, what is a typical day like at home? Do you constantly listen to music or do you prefer some silence?

There’s always some news show playing in the kitchen. Emilio watches the news early in Spanish. I listen to music when I’m getting ready, when I’m putting on makeup to go out. Now more than before, because before I had it so much in my life that I wanted silence at home.

18. And what do you listen to?

I use playlists. In Apple Music I play pop, which I really like. I play country, which has songs with very emotional stories. I heard dance the other day; I really like Tiësto, what he’s doing. I like to explore. Muisc for me it’s more of a mood than a specific artist. I love Pink, I listen to her entire album.

19. Are you going to sing at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony? If so, what?

Yes, they told me two songs: One that someone else will sing, and one sang by me. What do you think I should sing?

Well, it’d be nice if you sang something in Spanish, maybe one of the songs you have in both languages, do a verse in Spanish and another in English.

Good idea!

20. If you could sing only one single song for the rest of your life, yours or from another artist, what would it be?

“Mi Tierra.” I didn’t write it, but it touches my heart.

12 Jun 2023

Harry Styles Edges Out Elton John & Coldplay to Dominate Midyear Boxscore Charts

Harry Styles has been a constant presence on Billboard’s Top Tours chart, especially since the post-pandemic return of live music. He was No. 3 on 2021’s abridged year-end ranking, No. 21 on 2022’s midyear list and finished at No. 4 on that year’s overall tally. In between and since then, he has appeared on 13 monthly charts, including 10 top five appearances and three at No. 2. Now, finally, he takes his place atop the heap, dominating the 2023 midyear chart. 

According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Styles’ Love on Tour trek grossed $138.6 million and sold 1.2 million tickets across 38 shows between Nov. 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023. That puts him at No. 1 on both Top Tours (ranked by gross revenue) and Top Ticket Sales (ranked by paid attendance). 

Though this is Styles’ first solo appearance at No. 1 on Top Tours, he has reached the summit before as a member of One Direction. The five-member global sensation topped the 2014 year-end list and the 2015 midyear chart. 

Midyear Boxscores, Top Tours 2022

As Styles’ consistent chart presence indicates, his midyear triumph is the result of a constant grind, with the pop star road warrior making his way to the top at a pivotal moment in the two-year tour. The Love on Tour run was long delayed (pandemic-affected tours continue to appear on the Boxscore charts) but built upon the successful tours behind both 2019’s Fine Line and 2022’s Harry’s House. 

Styles’ win is also an example of Boxscore’s global reach, as the artist’s chart totals include shows in California, Central and South America, Australia and Asia. 

Styles began the tracking period with the back half of 12 shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. (The first half were in October, which counted toward the 2022 year-end rankings.) He returned for three additional dates at the venue in January that were rescheduled from November, completing a $47.8 million haul over 15 concerts at the Los Angeles-area arena. Of that total, $28.9 million goes toward the 2023 charts, placing Styles at No. 3 on Top Boxscores. 

Midyear Boxscores, Top Boxscores

From mid-November to mid-December, Styles played 14 shows in Mexico and South America, adding $40.4 million and 546,000 tickets. Then, following his final return to California (the three last Kia Forum shows, as well as two at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif.), he swept through Australian stadiums, earning $47.6 million from 373,000 tickets sold. 

Those legs include three appearances on Top Boxscores, at Nos. 15 ($16.4 million; Accor Stadium, Sydney; March 3-4), 20 ($15 million; Marvel Stadium, Melbourne; Feb. 24-25) and 27 ($11.1 million; Allianz Parque, São Paulo; Dec. 6, 13-14). 

Finally, Styles played six shows in Asia, adding $16.1 million and 122,000 tickets to his totals. 

On Top Ticket Sales, Coldplay joins Styles as the only other act to sell over a million tickets during the tracking period. Coldplay’s 1.11 million tickets fall 9% short of Styles’ 1.22 million. 

Midyear Boxscores, Top Ticket Sales

But on Top Tours, the margins are even thinner. Styles’ $138.6 million barely defends his title against Elton John’s late-surging total of $138.2 million, maintaining a lead of just 0.3% over his fellow Brit. Like Styles, John has been a consistent player on Billboard’s monthly, midyear and year-end Boxscore charts since the launch of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. Notably, he was No. 1 on the midyear rankings for 2019 and 2020 and has topped seven monthly listings, which is more than any other act. 

The presence of pop/rock British acts from last year’s Boxscore charts doesn’t end with Styles and John. Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, who come in at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, on the midyear list, were Nos. 5 and 3, respectively, on last year’s recap. The only other act in last year’s top five was Bad Bunny, who winds up at No. 6 on the midyear chart, bumped by fellow Cárdenas Marketing Network artist Daddy Yankee. 

Carryover from one year-end chart to the next is common, as major tours often continue beyond Billboard’s cutoff date of Oct. 31/Nov. 1. Further, tours are also blurring the lines of traditional album cycles, carrying on beyond a typical one-year span. Styles’ Love on Tour run has spanned the release of two albums, while Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour began as support for 2021’s = (Equals) and continues following the release of – (Subtract) in May. 

Those blurred lines disappear, however, for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, which is celebrating her entire discography rather than focusing on last year’s chart-topping Midnights. Launching in mid-March and continuing through the summer, the trek will likely crash the year-end rankings with other summer tentpole tours.  But Styles won’t fade away. While Love on Tour became one of Boxscore’s highest grossing treks of all time in May, 30 shows still remain — and he’ll play stadiums in Europe before wrapping July 22 in Italy, perhaps on his way to a $500 million finish.

12 Jun 2023

‘I Just Killed a Man’: Catie Offerman Brings a Mystery to Programmers

When Catie Offerman performed for programmers during Country Radio Seminar on March 14, she provided the Ryman Auditorium audience a mystery worth unwrapping.

Offerman announced her first radio single would be “I Just Killed a Man,” then launched into a slowly unfolding storyline full of dark imagery and phrases: Cops, chalk outlines, a getaway car and a guy begging for mercy in the driveway. The story was spellbinding; Offerman delivered it with a clear, inviting tone; and it was easy to ponder even as she performed it: “Really? Her first radio single is going to be a murder ballad?”

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But after two full verses and two choruses, the bridge shook up the plot: “Just because it ain’t a crime/Don’t mean I won’t be doing time.” More pondering: “How can a murder not be a crime? Oh, it’s not a murder. This song is awesome!”

That’s generally the way people react to “I Just Killed a Man,” though not everybody needs two minutes or so to figure out that the song isn’t quite what the title implies. “I say the name of it, all the women think it’s about killing their ex-boyfriend — I think they get all giddy about it for a second,” Offerman says. “It ain’t about murder, but I’ve never heard heartbreak talked about this way before.”

Circumstances lined up nicely for “I Just Killed a Man,” a title that emerged before the final day of a songwriting camp in Nashville last August that had a handful of composers focused specifically on material for Offerman. At the end of the day’s work on Aug. 9, two of the writers — Ryan Beaver (“Party Mode”) and Joe Clemmons (“Rose Needs a Jack”) — hung out at Beaver’s place to brainstorm for the next day. They flipped on the TV, and the Netflix menu fortuitously promoted a series that debuted that same day: I Just Killed My Dad. A couple of word changes and “I Just Killed a Man” led them down a creative road that compares a breakup to a murder.

“We just started throwing lines back and forth, not co-writing, but just nonchalant,” recalls Clemmons. “You know — ‘They won’t lock me up for this one’ – playing with the metaphor.”

Beaver called his neighbor — songwriter Jessie Jo Dillon (“Memory Lane,” “Break Up in the End”), who was also part of the Offerman camp – and clued her in. And when they arrived the next morning, it wasn’t long before they shared the concept with Offerman and songwriter Benjy Davis (“Made for You”). Clemmons broke into a progression on guitar with and came up with a signature instrumental lick at the same time, and everyone pitched in. 

“Catie started singing the chorus melody,” Beaver remembers. “It was such a collaborative effort. Benjy was such a great editor and writer that day; Joe was great. I mean, it’s really rare to feel that way because you sort of feel like you need a leader, or somebody has a better vision, and then the others are helping fulfill that. But not that day. This was a day where everybody was firing.”

“It was one of those days,” adds Dillon, “where you feel like you’re almost getting it from somewhere else.”

They wrote it in 6/8, an alternative to the typical 4/4 time signature. While it’s not the usual framework, it has undergirded such stalwart titles as Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and Jason Aldean’s “You Make It Easy.”

“I Just Killed a Man” “reminds me of [Little Big Town’s] ‘Girl Crush’ in a way,” Offerman says, citing another 6/8 predecessor. “The subject matter, you’re kind of like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ And then you just can’t help but being soaked up in the feeling of the tune.”

The metaphor in “I Just Killed a Man” works in great part because songs typically treat the person who ended a relationship as a villain. But verse two cast both people in the breakup as victims of the situation. Still, it’s easy to picture the stanza as a confession in an interrogation room. “Jessie pretty much wrote the whole second verse by herself,” says Clemmons. “Obviously we’re all helping and everything, but she had that line, ‘Tonight it’s just whiskey and guilt on the rocks.’ And that is such a Jessie Jo Dillon line. I’m pretty sure she spit that whole thing out.”

As fluid as the writing session was, “I Just Killed a Man” ended up running long. Davis was key in trimming the excess. “At some point, we were messing with some kind of pre-chorus, and I remember really liking what it said,” Dillon notes. “But it was one of those things that I think happens in songs sometimes where you kind of have to — no pun intended — kill off your favorite character, because it just felt so good to go into the chorus as quick as we did.”

Beaver and Clemmons wasted no time working up a demo that night at Beaver’s home. The recording laid out a strong map for the final product, kept musically lean. “I’m in a two-bedroom, two-bath, little condo, and one of the rooms is just set up for music gear and recording,” says Beaver. “Joe and I kept it really simple. I was like, ‘Man, this just needs to be about this story. It needs to be about this vocal.’ ”

That made it a difficult piece to get right when Offerman and producer Dann Huff (Kane Brown, Brantley Gilbert) cut it at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios. Two electric guitars played the instrumental signature lick in unison an octave apart, but even as they tried to minimize distractions from the melody and plot, the track was still too busy. “This kind of song, you can screw it up just because it’s a whisper,” Huff says. “There’s no grandstanding.”

They later went through a couple rounds of cuts in the production, muting instruments to give space for the story to fully resonate. Offerman recorded her final vocal at Huff’s home studio, singing it several days in a row among a batch of songs. Each day, she became a little more relaxed with the process and a little more in touch with the piece’s emotional subtleties.

“Some singers try to over-emote, overtell a story, overact,” says Huff. “In this one, I vaguely remember us speaking about the fact that there needs to be an air of desperation, a quiet desperation. Not overly dramatic — that spoils the story. It’s just that ache and the resolve to the emotional part of the lyric.”

Offerman and her creative associates were all pleasantly surprised when MCA Nashville chose the 6/8 ballad with murderous allusions as her first radio single, releasing it via PlayMPE on May 8. Based on the reaction she received at the Country Radio Seminar show, she’s bound at the very least to grab programmers’ attention.

“When you send them a text, or a message in their inbox, that says ‘I Just Killed a Man,’ you know at least they’re going to listen,” she reasons. “That is a cool thing about this title. I think it intrigues people, and I think it makes them want to listen because what other song have you ever heard called, ‘I Just Killed a Man’?”  

12 Jun 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘Last Night’ Leads Hot 100 for 10th Week, Luke Combs’ ‘Fast Car’ Hits Top Five

Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” achieves a 10th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. It becomes the 44th song since the Hot 100 began in August 1958 to reign for 10 or more weeks, out of 1,149 total No. 1s – an achievement that only 4% of all leaders have attained.

Plus, Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s classic “Fast Car” keeps on driving, advancing from No. 8 to No. 4 on the Hot 100. The song surpasses the No. 6 peak in 1988 of Chapman’s original – and, combined with Wallen’s “Last Night,” makes for two simultaneous top five country hits for the first time since 2000.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated June 17, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (June 13). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Wallen’s “Last Night,” released on Big Loud/Mercury/Republic Records, drew 68.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 4%) and 31 million streams (down 6%) and sold 8,000 downloads (down 6%) in the June 2-8 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The song, which initially led the Hot 100 in March, becoming Wallen’s first leader on the list, adds a 12th week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart; holds at its No. 4 high on Radio Songs; and rebounds 6-4 on Digital Song Sales, following a week on top.

Additionally, “Last Night” tops Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, which employs the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100, for an 18th week – tying for the 10th-longest command since the chart became an all-encompassing genre survey in October 1958. Wallen is the only soloist with two of the 10 longest-leading Hot Country Songs hits in that span, as his “You Proof” amassed 19 weeks on top in 2022.

“Last Night” concurrently leads the Country Airplay chart for a sixth week and holds at its No. 10 best on the Pop Airplay chart. It became Wallen’s ninth No. 1 on the former and his first top 10 on the latter list.

“Last Night” is also the hottest hit on Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart, which returned a week earlier.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” lifts 3-2 on the Hot 100, after eight weeks at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in January. It posts a 17th week atop Radio Songs (87 million in audience, essentially even week-over-week). The track now solely boasts the third-longest reign since Radio Songs began in December 1990 – and claims outright the longest domination for a song by a woman.

Most Weeks at No. 1 on Radio Songs:

  • 26, “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd, 2020
  • 18, “Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls, 1998
  • 17, “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, 2023
  • 16, “Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B, 2018
  • 16, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, 2005
  • 16, “Don’t Speak,” No Doubt, 1996-97
  • 15, “Easy On Me,” Adele, 2021-22

Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” rises to a new No. 3 Hot 100 high, from No. 5. (It reaches the top three in its 40th week on the chart, the fifth-longest ascent to the region; Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” took a record 51 weeks to the top three in 2021-22.) “Calm Down” also tops the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart for a 41st week, extending the longest reign since the ranking began over a year ago (in partnership with music festival and global brand Afro Nation).

Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” accelerates to a new No. 4 Hot 100 high. The song bests the No. 6 peak, in August 1988, of Chapman’s original. Three weeks ago, Combs’ version became the 16th remake of an ‘80s Hot 100 top 10 to also reach the tier. As his has now charted higher than Chapman’s, of those 16 such double-ups, covers have peaked higher than originals in only five cases.

Notably, Chapman, who solely wrote “Fast Car,” appears in the Hot 100’s top five with a second hit as a songwriter: “Give Me One Reason,” which she also penned solo, and which became her other top 10 as a recording artist, hit No. 3 in June 1996.

Combs adds his second top five Hot 100 hit, after “Forever After All” debuted at its No. 2 peak in November 2020.

“Fast Car” wins the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer award for a third consecutive week (34.2 million, up 30%). As previously reported, it hits the Country Airplay top 10 and ranks in the top 25 on Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay. The song is also up 1% to 20.2 million streams and 4% to 9,000 sold.

Meanwhile, with Wallen’s “Last Night” at No. 1 and Combs’ “Fast Car” parked at No. 4, two country hits (as defined by titles that have hit Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, where they currently place at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively) rank in the Hot 100’s top five simultaneously for the first time in over 23 years: for eight weeks in February-April 2000, Lonestar’s “Amazed” and Faith Hill’s “Breathe” shared space in the top five. (Before that, such tandems had not occurred since September 1981, when Juice Newton’s “Queen of Hearts” and Ronnie Milsap’s “[There’s] No Gettin’ Over Me” ranked in the top five together.)

A pair of country songs appearing in the Hot 100’s top five for the first time in nearly a quarter-century continues the genre’s surge this year; as analyzed by Hit Songs Deconstructed, country tied pop as the most prominent primary genres in the chart’s top 10 in Q1 2023, marking country’s best such showing in over a decade.

Lil Durk’s “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole, dips 4-5 on the Hot 100, three weeks after it launched at its No. 2 high. It tops the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs for a third week each. SZA’s “Kill Bill” keeps at No. 6 on the Hot 100, after it became her first No. 1, for a week in April. It leads the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for a 25th week.

Toosii’s “Favorite Song” rebounds 9-7 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 5. Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” retreats 7-8 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 4 – the best rank ever for a regional Mexican song. It posts a 10th week at No. 1 on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart.

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” repeats at No. 9 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 3, and, rounding out the top 10, Taylor Swift’s “Karma,” featuring Ice Spice, falls to No. 10 from its No. 2 high, a week after it vaulted (from No. 27) following the first week of tracking after the release of its remix with Ice Spice. Still, “Karma” hits the Radio Songs top 10 (12-7; 45.6 million, up 19%), becoming Swift’s 18th top 10, as she ties for the seventh-best sum (Rihanna leads with 30), and Ice Spice’s second.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated June 17), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (June 13).

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.

12 Jun 2023

Kelly Clarkson Surprises LA Coffee Shop With A Cappella Flash Mob

A group of Los Angeles shoppers enjoyed a private Kelly Clarkson performance over the weekend, when the pop superstar organized two separate a cappella flash mobs to perform tracks from her upcoming album Chemistry.

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In the videos posted to Instagram, Clarkson is seen in a Blue Bottle Coffee shop with a group of singers, surprising patrons with an impressive performance of her Chemistry single “Me.”

“I would like a vanilla latte,” the Grammy winner joked to the barista after the performance

Outside in the courtyard, Clarkson and the group of singers performed her recent single “Favorite Kind of High,” which was met by applause from people at the surrounding shops. “This was so fun, y’all! [laughing emoji] I got together with a bunch of amazing singers and flashmobbed people in LA,” Clarkson captioned the post.

Clarkson’s tenth studio album, Chemistry, is out June 23 via Atlantic Records. “Having chemistry with someone is an incredible, and overwhelming, feeling. It’s like you have no choice in the matter,” Clarkson said of the project in a press statement. “You are just drawn to each other. This can be good and bad. This album takes you down every path that chemistry could lead you down.”

Watch the flash mobs via Clarkson’s Instagram page below.

12 Jun 2023

Doja Cat Spotted In Cabo Locking Lips With Problematic “Influencer” J.

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Source: Noam Galai / Getty / Doja Cat

Doja Cat somehow beat the showing feet in racist chatroom allegations, but now she has to address locking lips with a problematic influencer.

Paparazzi spotted the “Streets” crafter on a yacht out in Cabo in a tiny bikini, showing off the cakes while cozying up with J. Cyrus, that based on the photos, are a couple.

That sounds harmless, right? Well, J. Cyrus is considered highly problematic according to reporting on Dlisted. The new photos of Cyrus and Doja Cat getting enjoying themselves and each other on the yacht led to old racist tweets and harassment allegations resurfacing.

“i can not even begin to express my disgust with jcyrus. this is so gross. i was friends and mutuals with so many people personally affected by his actions. i was even mutuals and was apart of one of his projects/streams. he is a groomer. he is a manipulator. he’s DISGUSTING,” one Twitter user wrote.

In another headass moment, Cyrus shared a tweet saying you should never give your Black friends Kentucky Fried Chicken or sharing a 2013 vine with the Twitter caption, “black ass white boy.”

Per Dlisted:

Enter the allegations. Apparently, J. came up on Vine, and he was a big deal on the live-streaming service, Twitch. According to one Twitterer in the know, J. “sexually manipulated and lied to his mods and other viewers.” He allegedly did this to around 20 female fans. When confronted with these harassment allegations, J. blocked his accusers.

J. Cyrus Did Apologize For Problematic Behavior

Cyrus did issue a lengthy ass apology void of paragraphs that nobody in their right mind would want to waste a single second reading.

Doja’s fans are trying to save her like the Swifties tried to save Taylor Swift from her now ex-problematic boo. Doja moves to the beat of her drum, so we shall see how this pans out.

—

Photo: Noam Galai / Getty

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12 Jun 2023

Gayle Is ‘Scared But Trying’ to Tour: See North American Dates

Gayle is giving solo tours another shot. After gaining experience supporting Taylor Swift and P!nk this year, the “abcdefu” singer announced Monday (June 12) that she’s hitting the road in the fall for her very own headlining trek in North America.

Dubbed the “Scared But Trying” tour, the 15-show run will kick off Oct. 17 in Tampa and find Gayle making stops in L.A., Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, New York City and more before closing out with a hometown show in Nashville. It’ll mark her first headlining excursion since she canceled her fall 2022-scheduled Avoiding College tour, saying at the time that she was still “learning how to be an adult and how best to do this new life.”

“Going on tour with taylor swift and p!nk has been some of the most exciting and terrifying moments of my life,” the 19-year-old musician wrote in her Scared But Trying Tour announcement on Instagram. “Before walking on stage i would get nauseas and it would be hard for me to control my breathing but no matter how i felt, i would try and do it anyways.”

Since the Avoiding College tour cancellation, Gayle has provided support in 2023 for Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour and is currently assisting P!nk on her Summer Carnival 2023. She’s also gearing up for a handful of festival shows in Germany and the Netherlands later this month.

“The thought of going on my own tour is very intimidating to me but i’ve been scared for the past two years and over time i’ve learned i can do things even though i’m afraid,” she added in her post. “with this tour, i am scared, but i’m ready to try.”

According to a release, special guests for the Scared But Trying tour will be announced soon. Artist presales begin at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday (June 13); Spotify and local presales begin 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday (June 14) and a general on-sale begins at the same time on Friday (June 16). More ticket information can be found on Gayle’s site.

See Gayle’s announcement below.

12 Jun 2023

Britney Spears & Kevin Federline Slam ‘Repulsive’ Report She’s Allegedly Using Meth

Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline have shared strong reactions to a British tabloid report over the weekend claiming that the star is using illegal drugs.

“[The] lies and attempts to exploit minors is click bait and another repulsive example of where, unfortunately, certain journalism has sunk today,” Federline wrote in a statement on his Instagram Story on Monday (June 12).

The singer’s former husband — with whom she shares sons Sean Preston, 17, and Jayden James, 16 — lashed out at The Daily Mail and The Sun, saying it saddened his family that the publications “decided to fabricate lies and publish the heart ache our family has endured, along with the trauma of our minor children” in the papers.

The Mail piece alleged that Federline and Spears’ family is afraid that she is using the highly addictive drug crystal meth. “It’s terrifying. She is the mother of my boys,” the Mail reported Federline saying, while claiming that her sons are “refusing” to meet their mother.

The British tabloid reports were claimed to have been the result of a series of conversations between Federline and the writer, and though K-Fed slammed the results as hurtful and untrue, he did not specifically call out any particular claim the writers made.

Spears was equally upset, posting a stock photo of a boy bullying a girl on the school ground along with a long note decrying the reporting, also without addressing the specific allegations on Instagram. “The fact that people are claiming things that are not true is so sad … This may not even be them saying such things because it doesn’t make any sense to me for them to be saying that,” she wrote in a lengthy caption. The rest of the note appeared to relate to the singer’s reportedly strained relationship with her teenage sons.

The Mail report appeared to suggest that the claims about Spears’ alleged drug use came as part of an in-process documentary that has been in the works since last July. The piece suggested that the star’s estranged father — who was in charge of her day-to-day affairs for 13 years during her restrictive conservatorship that ended in November 2021 — has worried that his daughter will meet the same fate as Amy Winehouse, who died at 27 after a struggle with drugs and alcohol.

“It’s sad because everyone sits back as if that’s ok to make up lies to that extent … Why am I told I have to sit back and rise above ???” Britney Spears asked her in post. “When they all go so low ???”

In his Instagram Story, Federline said that he did allow the Daily Mail writer and her team into his home “because we trusted them … but that was lost and we severed ties back in March for many reasons we choose not to go into here.” He said it was “very distressing” that the reporter continues to “harass our family when we have repeatedly asked her to leave us alone.” Federline said he and his family did speak with the reporters a few times in a fashion he described as “respectful” and “with love and compassion for Britney and the Spears family.”

A spokesperson for Spears had no additional comment beyond the singer’s post, and a spokesperson for Federline has not yet returned a request for comment.

In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for The Mail on Sunday says the publication stands by its story, saying that the writer and the team spent “months” working with Federline and his family – including Spears’ sons – for a new documentary, during which they spent 12 days filming together. “[The writer] has assured us that the quotes attributed to Kevin and the family are accurate and fairly reflect the interviews conducted, in which Kevin expressed his fears that Britney might be using crystal meth to [the writer]” and members of the film crew. “He did so clearly and repeatedly.”

Spears’ lawyer, Matthew Rosengart, confirmed to Billboard on Monday that he sent a legal note to the Mail on Sunday also vehemently denying the report of her alleged drug use. “Kevin Federline himself has now acknowledged the falsity of the story, asserting that it contains ‘fabrications’ and ‘lies’ about Britney. In addition to exploiting and making false claims about Britney, particularly regarding ‘crystal meth,’ the ‘story’ also exploits her minor children, which is beyond the pale,” read the letter, with Rosengart noting that Federline’s comments about “lies” specifically refer to what he said were the “false allegation regarding ‘crystal meth.’”

12 Jun 2023

5 Affordable Streaming Services for Students to Binge the Latest TV Shows & Movies

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Besides furthering your learning, getting an education comes with perks — including access to many, many bundles and discounts. No matter if you’re in college or continuing your education, some streaming services offer discounted prices on their services, so you can finally catch up on The Kardashians’ without having to snag someone else’s password.

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Most of these streaming services for students provide a free trial beforehand, allowing you to save money before committing to the service. After your free trial ends you’ll be charged a reduced, student-only rate. To snag even deeper discounts, some streaming services offer bundle options, giving you reduced rates to premium and ad-free versions of their platform.

It’s easy to qualify, too! All you need is a school email that ends in “.edu” to verify your student status, then you can stream all you want. Rather hunt for these deals yourself, we gathered up the best streaming services for students below.

Consider Amazon Prime your one-stop destination, whether it’s for last-minute backpacks or some travel necessities. Besides deals and discounts, students can also take advantage of its immense Prime Video library all for $7.49/month — and that’s after a six month free-trial.

Prime Student

$7.49/month after six months $14.99/month 50% off% OFF

Prime Student gives you all the perks of a Prime membership, but at half the cost — literally! As long as you’re a student, you’ll get access to the massive collection of Prime Originals that includes Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Swarm, The Powder, Harlem, Invincible, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Legend of Vox Machina.

You can also add additional channels such as Max, Starz and Showtime channels and enjoy even more shows and movies all in one spot. Aside from Prime Video access, Student Prime members get access to Prime Music, Prime Gaming and Prime Reading in addition to free same-day, one-day or two-day delivery on millions of items, exclusive deals, groceries, savings on prescriptions and more.

Another single platform to consider is Apple TV+, which offers a reduced price for students at just $5.99/month for up to 48 months. You’ll also get access to Apple Music’s vast library of songs, playlists, artists and more. To take advantage of this perk, you’ll have to verify your student status through UNiDAYS.

Apple TV+ Student Membership

$5.99/month after 30 days $10.99/month 45% off% OFF

Apple TV+‘s student discount will give you access to exclusive shows and movies such as Ted Lasso, Central Park, Dickinson, Platonic, The Crowded Room, Severance, Loot, High Desert, The Last Thing He Told Me, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movies, Silo, Ghosted, Shrinking, The Problem with John Stewart, Bad Sisters, Schmigadoon!, The Morning Show and more on Apple TV+.

You can stream Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and popular smart TVs such as Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL, Toshiba and others, along with Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV. Apple TV+ is available on PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles as well.

Disney+ doesn’t have an exclusive student offer, but there is are wallet-friendly packages that you can take advantage of — especially through its bundles.

The basic plan is only $7.99/month (or $79.99/year) with ads, but if you want a no-ad experience, you can snag a Disney+ Premium plan for just $10.99/month.

Besides that, the streaming service offers multiple bundled deals that can save you money on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Rather than splurge on all three service separately, this deal will provide all three at one cost starting at $13/month.

Disney+ subscribers can access the ever-expanding streaming library in stunning 4K and download titles to watch on the go. Stream on up to four different devices simultaneously on your TV, laptop, smartphone, notebook or tablet device — or host a virtual movie night with up to six friends via GroupWatch.

Disney+ is the dedicated streaming destination for must-watch, commercial free content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

Users will find thousands of hours’ worth of movies and TV series including Peter Pan & Wendy, Muppets Mayhem, Avatar: Way of the Water, American Born Chinese, Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All, The Prouder Family: Louder & Prouder, WandaVision, Moon Knight, The Mandalorian, Andor, Loki, The Book of Boba Fett, The Beatles Get Back, Hocus Pocus 2, The Simpsons, Welcome to Earth and Called to the Wild are included in the massive Disney+ streaming library.

Hulu Student Plan

$1.99/month $7.99/month 75% off% OFF

Hulu is offering a student discount for a total steal — like 75% off steal. For just $1.99/month you can get access to the ad-supported plan and streaming service’s vast library of Hulu Originals, TV series and movies — and all for less than the cost of a cup of coffee.

Both current and new subscribers are eligible for the student discount and can look forward to watching Only Murders in the Building, The Beautiful Things, The Kardashians, How I Met Your Father, Dollface, The Dropout, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Handmaid’s Tale, Not Okay, Prey, White Men Can’t Jump and other Hulu originals, along with most new episodes from network TV and cable shows the day after they air.

Paramount+ is offering a stellar discount for students providing it’s ad-supported plan for 25% off a month. To qualify you have to be a part of an accredited college or Title IV higher education institution (high school students are not eligible).

Paramount+ Student Plan

$3.74/month after 7-days $4.99/month 25% off% OFF

Whether you’re a new subscriber or current member of Paramount+, the streamer is providing 25% off its Essential Plan dropping it from $4.99/month to just $3.74/month. Just verify your student status through the streamer and you’ll be able to enjoy the discounted cost.

The student discounted subscription will let you stream tens of thousands of episodes and movies including exclusive programs from BET to MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and The Smithsonian Channel. The lineup of Paramount+ series includes Fatal Attraction, The Family Stone, School Spirits, Star Trek: Picard, 1923, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek Discovery, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Why Women Kill, Before I Forget, iCarly, The Tony Awards and Rugrats.

Additionally, Paramount+ subscribers can stream new movies and special such as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Scream VI, 80 for Brady, Top Gun: Maverick, and Babylon.

12 Jun 2023

Oak View Group’s CEO Says the Future of Arena Building Is Overseas Thanks to K-Pop and Latin

Amid the sports memorabilia in Tim Leiweke’s office, there’s a small framed quote with the word “Motivation” at the top. Leiweke, the chairman/CEO of Oak View Group (OVG), is a 45-year veteran of the estimated global $25 billion concert industry who spent the pandemic building seven new arenas — five of which his company owns and operates — so he’s not one to hang inspirational thoughts from Wikiquotes on his wall. “Motivation” is followed by a question: “How does ASM differentiate itself from its main competitor, Oak View Group?”

The answer comes from Ron Bension, president/CEO of ASM Global, and the most salient part reads: “There are other companies that are noisier, but we’re managing more buildings, with more content from Live Nation and AEG than anywhere else in the world.”

Oak View Group and ASM are indeed competitors in managing facilities around the globe, and it’s important to know that ASM is co-owned by sports/live-entertainment company AEG, where Leiweke was CEO until his “mutually agreed upon departure” in 2013 from the company owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz. Leiweke, 66, says he wishes Anschutz “nothing but luck,” but he also says he carries a copy of Bension’s quote in his backpack and reads it before every presentation he makes. “Never piss off your competitor,” he says with a broad smile. “I thank Ron daily that he has decided it’s me that causes him success. Maybe that motivates me as much as it motivates him.”

In 2015, Leiweke partnered with multisector music magnate Irving Azoff to build a company that now manages approximately 500 facilities. OVG employs 5,000 people full-time (including Leiweke’s daughter, Francesca Bodie, who is president of business development), with another 35,000 part-time staffers.

The arenas OVG has built in the last 18 months include Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle; Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif.; CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore; and UBS Arena on New York’s Long Island. “We did it in the middle of COVID, inflation, rising interest rates, labor issues, political issues,” he says.

OVG is working on multibillion-dollar projects in Las Vegas; Manchester, England; and, in partnership with Live Nation, São Paulo, and Leiweke says it’s time for the music industry to recognize the crucial role companies like his play in fan satisfaction. “Everyone talks about the promoters, the agents and the managers,” he says. “The brick-and-mortars and the fan experience are equally important. We’re spending tens of millions on acoustics and air-handling systems that deal with things like COVID. And yet people underestimate our passion for how important that is to the live experience.”

From the Desk of Tim Leiweke

“We did a lot of boxing in the AEG days,” Leiweke says. “I’ve got signed globes by Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya. I don’t know how many gloves I have.”

Joel Barhamand

How did you get the Long Island Railroad to open a station at your UBS Arena?

Paid for it. Our landlord and our partner is the state of New York. We went through two governors and a lot of politics to get the deal done. If you look at all the other facilities in the New York area, except for [Madison Square] Garden, Citi Field was built with bonds issued by state and city authorities. The Meadowlands [in New Jersey] was paid for mostly by taxpayers’ dollars. Barclays Center [in Brooklyn] involved bonds. That’s the nature of many of these projects. We were private. Us and [New York] Islanders [co-owner] Scott Malkin put up $1 billion privately to build that arena. Of that billion, roughly $75 million was a cash contribution toward that light rail station. It’s about developing a private-public partnership that works for everybody, which enabled us to get a lot more done there than most anyone else.

The opening of that station has made going to UBS convenient and environmentally friendly. Did sustainability play a part?

We happen to be very sustainable around here. UBS is LEED-certified. Our goal is to make that a carbon-neutral venue within the next couple of years. Obviously, we had the first carbon-neutral arena ever in Seattle. You cannot be carbon-neutral if everyone is driving there for every event. So mass transportation was highly important to us, to get somebody from Penn Station or Grand Central [in Manhattan] in a 30-minute train ride. It was also highly important for the viability of that building in a very competitive marketplace for arenas. You’ve got Prudential Center [in New Jersey], Barclays, the Garden and you’ve got us. We’ve got to find a way to get people in and out without it having to be about the Long Island Expressway.

What is the strategy behind building in secondary and tertiary markets like Palm Springs, Calif.?

There are small markets and big markets, and a combination of those deals is smart. Partially because in North America, the majority of big arenas are owned or controlled by an NBA or NHL tenant. They’re greedy, and they have a strategic value within that market that we don’t have, which is, if you want me to keep this team here, you’ve got to help me build or take over this arena. We’re going to get a few of those — Seattle and New York are examples — but we also have to find either A markets that don’t have an anchor tenant, which are few and far between, or B markets. The business proposition in a B market is just as good as an A market because we can build an arena there for between $200 million and $300 million. I’m not going to get the 86 nights of music that I’m getting in Seattle, but Irving and I can live with 40 nights of music in Palm Springs. And then, we happen to have probably the most financially successful American Hockey League team there this year with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The mix of those two means we get just as good a rate of return on every dollar I invested at Acrisure as we will in Seattle. We love these B markets because there’s 20 of them out there compared with half a dozen of the A markets.

You’re seeing a lot of growth right now. When does what you do plateau?

It won’t be in my lifetime. There are 50 markets in the world today that need new arenas, but only 20 of them will make sense. I’m very driven by the rate of return that we get on our investment. Irving, the employees and I own the majority of this company. I have an investment partner in Silver Lake, and I’m very driven to get them a healthy valuation on this asset one day because they put a lot of money into it.

From the Desk of Tim Leiweke

Memorabilia from the arenas that OVG has built and the sports teams associated with them. From left: hockey pucks from Climate Pledge Arena and the Seattle Kraken; a plaque from Baltimore’s CVG Bank Arena; a shovel from the groundbreaking for UBS Arena.

Joel Barhamand

You talk a lot about the importance of “alignment” with partners before the work starts. How has that benefited OVG beyond the seven arenas you’ve built? 

In Seattle, Climate Pledge Arena was a 50-50 joint venture between us, [Seattle’s NHL team] the Kraken, and [the team’s majority co-owner] David Bonderman. David and I were aligned on that vision for the arena from day one — before he got the team.

That is a city-owned facility, and we continue to be good partners and good neighbors with Mayor Bruce Harrell, Governor Jay Inslee, and county commissioner Dowe Constantine. My brother deals with them every day on our behalf. We’re jumping into Memorial Stadium there because it’s the right thing to do for the city and the county and the school district. And so that alignment with the people I just mentioned has created a hell of an asset. Even though we privatized it, they own it. It has also created all kinds of other opportunities, including our new restaurant, event center and the bid we’re making on Memorial Stadium. And we’re just getting started. 

How much of an advantage is it for you that, once you build these venues, you can then bring in Harry Styles or the Eagles because of your partnership with Irving Azoff?

At the end of the day, we’ve got no chips with anybody out there. We’re not promoters, which means we get along with everyone. Louis Messina is one of my best friends. We have known each other most of our adult lives. I have a great relationship with Michael Rapino and everybody else at Live Nation. I like Jay Marciano. I hired Jay. I should be able to get along better with Jay, but there are other relationships at play there. As great as it is to have Irving as my partner, he’s only part of the equation.

Arena builds are not your only business.

We do 16 different services. I probably have 40 people in this company that work with every promoter, including some that route Irving’s tours for him. What makes us dangerous is, we are everybody that wants us to come in and bid because we’ve spent $4 billion building arenas. We’re going to do it better because we’ve got real skin in the game. We raise the debt on each of these buildings through my daughter Francesca and her division. We do the food and beverage, parking. We have a division called GOAL where we learn how to operate buildings more sustainably each year and rate them annually. We have 150 people selling naming rights and sponsorships every day.

How important are VIP packages and services?

We sell premium — suites and club seats. Premium and hospitality are still a huge growth opportunity. We’re just closing a deal on Rhubarb Hospitality Collection, RHC. They’re a high-end catering, food and beverage company based in London, New York and Berlin. They have one of the top restaurants in New York, Peak at Hudson Yards. We’ve also brought on Christian Navarro from Wally’s Wine and Spirits [in Beverly Hills]. When people come into our VIP areas, we want to create a whole different level for them. RHC is my fourth food and beverage company.

You’ve got a massive development in Las Vegas.

The biggest bet we’ve ever made is our project in Las Vegas. You could add New York and L.A. together, and they don’t do as much live entertainment as Vegas. It’s the live-entertainment capital of the world. But let’s look at the venues. There must be 10 nice theaters on the Strip. You need good arenas, too. T-Mobile was my last deal at AEG. It’s a nice arena, but it pales in comparison to what we just built in Seattle, New York and Austin. How do you have the No. 1 live-entertainment marketplace in the world and its arena is not one of the 30 nicest arenas in the country? You’ll hear about this soon, but we have a lot of world-class partners, brands and entrepreneurs who have come together to build out a 100-acre campus that will be the destination for live entertainment, culture, the arts and hospitality.

What does your overseas strategy look like?

The majority of projects we’re working on are overseas, like São Paulo with Live Nation. Thirty million people live in São Paulo. It’s a great music market. Latin music and K-pop are the biggest industry influencers now. We are also highly focused on Singapore and Asia; Lagos, because look at the artists coming from Nigeria. That’s where you’ve got to go for live music and culture and arts. We have a partner from Nigeria to build the single best arena in all of Africa.

You’ve also got Co-op Live opening in Manchester.

That is the capital of the U.K. for live events. That arena is going to be a top five arena in the world. When I opened up Staples Center in 1999, Bruce Springsteen was my opening artist for two nights, and the first night he told everyone, “Why don’t you come out of those corporate boxes and join us.” He didn’t have a great experience. I was like, goddamn it, the Boss just ripped me a new one from the stage. What he told me after the Staples concert is, “Tim, I like hot, sweaty halls.” When he opened up the CFG Bank arena for us in April, I said to him, “You’ve been running around my brain for 25 years because I failed you miserably.” Co-op Live is going to be the first music-only arena that is a hot, sweaty hall, and yet it will have 32 points of destination — restaurants, clubs and VIP spaces. It’s the first time we said, make it about music — make the bowl perfect — and then we’ll shoehorn in whatever else is important outside the bowl. Make all of the people right on the artist so it’s a hot, sweaty hall. I think that arena is going to change our industry. We’re sniffing around in Barcelona and Madrid. We want to go to the great cultural markets of the world where they have arenas that are 30, 40 years old and make those the next flags for the company. We have $2 billion to $3 billion of additional investment coming outside of Vegas and the projects we’re building in the U.S.

What’s your perspective on the Taylor Swift ticketing issue that Live Nation encountered? What could it have done better?

Ticketmaster did nothing wrong on Taylor Swift except for handling the demand, and we all knew that was coming. In a perfect world Taylor, Louis Messina and Ticketmaster would go back, take those dates and spread out the on sales. But at the end of the day it’s the bots and the scalpers that broke that system down. Did Taylor get any money from all of those secondary companies? Not a penny. Did the arenas or stadiums? I’ve spent $4 billion. Why is it that I let a secondary company come into my arena and resell my tickets and keep those fees? It’s a crime.

What are you doing to solve scalping and secondary-market issues?

I’ve got some ideas. In Seattle, we cleansed our season ticket list, our premium list and our club seat list. We got rid of anyone that was a scalper or secondary company so they couldn’t use the right of first refusal on concerts to tie those tickets up. Second is the bots. If an artist wants to be protected, we have to create smart tickets. And one day, your tickets are going to be here. (Holds up his hand.) We use the Amazon “grab and go” using your hand system. It’s not perfected yet, but within two years, it’s going to be phenomenal. Then we’ll be able to put the ticket in there and work a deal between Ticketmaster and Amazon. Just as technology has created the problem, so technology will solve the problem.

There’s also an outcry against fees.

They want to come in and say get rid of fees, but the reality is the fees are split by everybody in the pool. The artist gets some of the fees. Yes, they do. The building gets some of the fees and the promoter gets some of the fees. The fees are shared. There is an economic universe out there of rebates and waiving rent and giving artists free nights in the arena. That’s all part of this ecosystem of sharing fees. Everyone tends to forget about that. Ticketmaster does not even make the majority of fees. It’s not the fees. Should we tell people what the fees are in advance? That’s a good idea. But at the end of the day, if we want to attack what ultimately creates the majority of problems that people like The Cure or Taylor Swift feels strongly about, then attack the secondary companies who have no skin in the game.

From the Desk of Tim Leiweke

“Shaq is our partner,” Leiweke says of NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, whose Big Chicken franchise is among the concessions found at OVG venues.

Joel Barhamand

Do you think Congress is focusing on the right players then?

Congress can’t even get a budget passed. Can they please just go run the country. Do I think they could solve the ticketing problem? No. These are the people saying it’s all Ticketmaster’s fault. No. Come learn the business, and what we’ll tell you is that the very same lobbyists you’re listening to that wrote that bill that you want to pass — they’re the problem.

The lion’s share of an act’s income comes from live shows. How much longer can we look at the live business as this sort of unlimited resource for artists, and whose responsibility is it to foster new arena and stadium acts?

How long can we maintain this ratio?  I think forever because as I said music is the essence of our life. The economics have shifted, but the demand for music, recorded music, hasn’t shifted. It’s streaming now, and the economics are different. But we now have more ability to get more music from more artists than ever before. That’s who’s developing the emerging artists, god bless them — those streaming services. Ironically, they took some of the economics out of what an artist makes but they’ve created tens of thousands of more artists now, and who would have ever guessed that today we’d be seeing these K-pop and Latino artists? I’m looking at some of the numbers we did for Grupo Firme and Rauw Alejandro. The amount of tickets that Latino artists sell is unheard of. The same with K-pop. We just did four nights of K-pop including Suga, and UBS sold out everything. We had record merchandise sales. We’re going to continue to see that, and I give a lot of credit to the streaming industry. That’s going to be the live pipeline. So, maybe the economics ultimately got kind of turned a little bit against the artist, but it’s created far more artists that can now go sell out arenas.

Will they come up through the clubs or go straight to arenas?

We have the theater alliance because I think that’s highly important. Clubs are highly important. Both Live Nation and AEG are doing a great job on clubs. I’m a huge fan of Bowery Presents, and we’d like to have a better relationship with them. We will one day when the personalities get shifted.  Will we keep going at the rate we’ve been going the last two years? Probably not. We’re seeing record rates, and we see it again next year. Our bookings are very, very strong for next year. But this is going to continue for a while because people have pent-up demand and discretionary income. I also think people went through Covid and said I’m going to go live life. Well, music happens to be something that relates to everybody. So, this isn’t going to stop. We’ll continue to develop smaller venues like Acrisure, which is a huge stepping stone for a lot of Latino bands. Everyone was scared of that marketplace except for Paul Tollett. I’m like, Paul’s pretty smart. I’ll follow his lead.

The same goes for sustainability when it comes to venues and festivals. You seem to be doing a lot on that front, but whose responsibility is it?

Sustainability is the overriding factor of this company. We spent $150 million on sustainability in Seattle saving the roof. I floated that roof in the air for three years. Everyone thought build a new arena, but that is the greatest waste of our planet — new steel, new glass, new everything. I thought, what if we reuse stuff? The arena’s roof is historic. It was originally part of the Washington State Pavilion at the 1962 World’s Fair. We figured out how to float it in the air with temporary steel supports, and I reused the steel. Then we took the front of the building and built an atrium system and a people-moving system to get everyone up and down. Take the existing arena, tear it down, build a hole three times as large, go down, not up because I use less energy below ground level. I don’t have to spend as much money on heating or cooling. Then drop the roof back on. Everyone says, “Oh, the renovation.”  I’m like renovation? This is $1.15 billion. Renovate my ass. The only thing that stayed was the roof, and then three of the four sides is the original glass from the 1962 World’s Fair. I preserved it, packed it, stored it for two years and then put it back on. Then I had to retrofit the glass with fiber for earthquakes because the earthquake standard has changed since 1962.

You and Irving Azoff were once rivals and now you’re partners. What does that say about the music industry?

Yo-yos. It’s up and down, up ad down. We were partners, then enemies, then partners. I’m hoping that cycle has played itself out completely. Michael Rapino and I fought aggressively against each other. We’re not best of friends, but I’d say in our business he’s one of the greatest partners I have. The music business is a unique business because everyone thinks they’ve got to be either best of friends or fighting each other. There’s no in-between. The drama in the music business is crazy. We’re drama free around here. Our job is to get along with everybody. That’s the good thing about being private. People say, “Do you get along with Phil?”  I wish him nothing but the best of luck. Whatever AEG does, I’m proud that I hired the majority of those people. And guess what, whether they succeed or fail, it will have little impact on my company. The greatest drama I had in my life is when Irving and I were fighting each other because he’s formidable. I’m very happy he’s on my side of the equation.