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31 May 2023

The Weeknd Teases New Madonna & Playboi Carti Single for ‘The Idol’ Soundtrack

With just less than a week to go before The Idol premieres on Max, The Weeknd is turning up the promotional heat. On Wednesday (May 31), the “Blinding Lights” singer announced that the accompanying soundtrack for the Sam Levinson-directed drama series would be available for pre-order alongside a new single on June 2.

Titled “Popular,” the new single from The Idol, Vol. 1 features Madonna and Playboi Carti. The new single serves as the first musical release of 2023 for both Madonna and Playboi Carti. “Popular” follows the Future-assisted “Double Fantasy” as the second taste of The Idol soundtrack. Originally released on April 21 as the lead single from the soundtrack, “Double Fantasy” has since peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Starring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp, Troye Sivan, Jennie Ruby Jane, Moses Sumney and Mike Dean, The Idol explores the dark intersection of popular music, celebrity culture, drugs, sex and contemporary cult aesthetics. The embattled and already controversial series received a standard five-minute standing ovation at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and at press time has a score of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Idol marks The Weeknd’s first proper television role, and he is also a credited writer, co-creator and executive producer of the series.

The Weeknd has been a mainstay on the Hot 100 in 2023. This year, he notched a pair of top 10 hits in the No. 3-peaking “Creepin’” (with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage) and “Die for You,” an Ariana Grande-assisted remix of his runaway 2016 hit, which became the seventh chart-topper for both artists. The “Save Your Tears” singer has earned 16 top 10 hits on the Hot 100, and he has sent four titles to the top of the Billboard 200 including Grammy-winning albums such as Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy.

See The Weeknd’s announcement of the Playboi Carti and Madonna single below:

31 May 2023

Drew Barrymore Gushes Over Taylor Swift’s ‘Beautiful’ Eras Tour Show: ‘I Cried So Hard’

Taylor Swift is Drew Barrymore’s anti-hero, minus the “anti.” In a recent Instagram post, the actress raved about the pop star’s Eras Tour after attending the Sunday (May 28) show in New Jersey, revealing that the three-hour event was an emotional experience from top to bottom.

“@taylorswift I cried so hard when you sang welcome to NEW YORK,” Barrymore posted Tuesday (May 30), sharing a carousel of photos from the concert at MetLife Stadium. “I moved here not knowing where my life was going. And I actually found myself so happy in this chapter.”

The Drew Barrymore Show host’s photos showed different shots of Swift and her lit-up stage, snapped from Barrymore’s spot on the floor. In one, the actress — who’s a mom to daughters Olive and Frankie — was captured watching the show with an adoring smile on her face, hands clasped underneath her chin.

“I also cried watching my daughters and cousin Sadie watch and love and sing to someone so admirable,” she continued. “YOU. I LOVE YOU TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!!!!! You are the role model all of us girls and women need. Thank you for one of the best nights of our lives. We are so lucky to have seen your show. Your oh so giving 3 hour show.”

“Ps we listen to you on vinyl every morning to get ready for our day,” Barrymore added. “You transcend. And make life beautiful. Everyone passing beaded bracelets around. Witnessing the good.”

Swift had many treats in store for Barrymore and the rest of her audience at the final of three Eras shows in East Rutherford. In addition to singing 1989 fan-favorites “Welcome to New York” and “Clean” as the night’s surprise songs, Ice Spice joined her onstage to perform the pair’s new “Karma” remix live.

It was also Phoebe Bridgers’ final night as opener for Swift’s North American trek, which the two celebrated by performing their Red (Taylor’s Version) duet “Nothing New” together. “You are my hero,” Bridgers told the “Bejeweled” singer onstage.

Barrymore also wasn’t the only star in attendance at the Jersey shows over the weekend. Aaron Rodgers, Miles Teller, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Molly Ringwald, Mariska Hargitay, Maren Morris, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper all made it out to MetLife Stadium to watch Swift shine at some point during her three-night run in East Rutherford.

See Drew Barrymore’s emotional post below:

31 May 2023

Justin Tranter’s Facet Records Offers Master Points to Songwriters on Every Release

Facet Records will now grant songwriters three percentage points (colloquially referred to as “points”) on every recording they release from the label’s share of the track, founder Justin Tranter tells Billboard. A songwriter with credits on hits like Imagine Dragons’ “Believer” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” among others, Tranter hopes to start a trend of labels sharing master income with songwriters and to bolster “the middle class of songwriters” that they feel has “been decimated” in recent years.

Home to emerging talent like Jake Wesley Rogers, Shawn Wasabi, Shea Diamond and YDE, with today’s announcement Facet Records is “the first company in the world to make this a standard practice,” says the company founder. While already revered hitmakers, such as Tranter, can occasionally negotiate for a half or single point on the master recording, working class songwriters typically never see revenue or ownership on the master side, “unless they also produced the song,” says Tranter.

The independent label’s team opted to offer three points specifically because it will align songwriters with the industry standard already granted to producers on the recorded music side. Historically, producers earn anywhere between one to five points on a master, given their role in the recording process. The three points will never be taken out of the artists’ share of the song at Facet Records and will be shared equally with all the songwriters on a track that are not also an artist or producer.

“I figured instead of complaining and begging for change, I could fight the good fight myself first and at least do what I can to control the situation,” says Tranter. “Songwriters are the backbone of the business, the embryo, but only a few writers are living a life like mine, most everyone is left to starve.”

Earning a livable wage as a working songwriter has become harder in recent years due to a convergence of factors. In general, the publishing side of music produces less royalties than the master recording side does, but now, during the streaming era, songwriters face additional challenges. In a time of physical media like CDs, cassettes and vinyl, songwriters across all of the album’s tracks would get paid evenly for sales of full albums, meaning that even if the songwriter wrote on a less popular track, they could still see decent income, even if their song did not make it to the radio, where many songwriters say is where the real money is. The emergence of single downloads, and now streaming, has created an increasing disparity between the income generated by radio singles and a regular album track.

While artists can bolster their income by looking to brand partnerships, touring and other revenue sources, songwriters are left to pay their bills with streaming, radio and sales alone. While the Copyright Royalty Board proceedings have led to some increases in U.S. streaming rates for songwriters in recent years, many feel it is not enough.

In 2021, Tranter — along with other hitmakers like Emily Warren, Ross Golan, Tayla Parx, Victoria Monét, Savan Kotecha and Joel Little — created an advocacy group called The Pact to voice some of the issues facing the modern songwriter. Among their grievances, The Pact noted that artists who do not contribute to writing the song now expect “particularly aggressive” cuts of the publishing, something most songwriters do not have the leverage to refuse.

There are also other, more universal difficulties songwriters today have to account for, including inflation and cost of living increases, the latter of which has particularly hurt Nashville songwriters.

When asked if Facet would adjust another area of its business to account for losing the three points of income, Tranter says though they expect the change to be an “accounting headache” they add, “if I’m lucky enough to have a hit song where we own or co-own the master, that’s going to be great. I don’t need to make this up. In my opinion, labels are being greedy, they’re just being f-cking greedy.”

Tranter hopes that by opting to announce the new standard publicly that “it will inspire other labels to follow.” “We especially need the major labels to join this if we want it to be a real thing, but if it inspires other smaller labels, who can make this change quickly and overnight like I did, and it gets majors to at least have the conversation, then that’s a step forward.”

31 May 2023

Tyler, the Creator Announces Return of Camp Flog Gnaw Festival: Here Are the Dates

After teasing the return of his beloved festival Camp Flog Gnaw during Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Hillbillies” video on Tuesday (May 30), Tyler, The Creator granted the wishes of his fanbase by announcing the dates for the forthcoming event on Wednesday. 

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Slated for Nov. 11 and Nov. 12, Tyler, the Creator, will once again bring Camp Flog Gnaw to Dodger Stadium for the festival’s ninth installment. According to a press release, a limited number of sale passes will be available for purchase beginning Friday (June 2) at 12 p.m. local time. 

For $335 plus fees, GA passes will allow fans to attend Saturday and Sunday’s showings, while an advanced price of $595 plus fees will guarantee VIP status. A VIP wristband will enable fans entry on both days along with “a dedicated entry lane, exclusive food and shaded/seating areas, a viewing area at multiple stages, and a VIP merch package including a backpack, water bottle, snow globe, mini helmet, carabiner, baseball keychain, and a pin,” according to the release. Attendees can get Super VIP passes for $1,495 plus fees.

According to the press release, “Super VIP passes will include 1 VIP wristband good for entry to both Saturday and Sunday of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival with a dedicated entry lane, exclusive food and shaded/seating areas, access to the exclusive Super VIP Clubhouse, a viewing area at multiple stages, and a Super VIP merch package including a custom SE 29″ Big Flyer Bike, Converse x Golf Wang custom shoe, a Camp Flog Gnaw blanket, fanny pack, mug, and pin.” Those with GA and VIP passes will still be able to enjoy carnival rides, while carnival game tickets require a pass, which will be available separately. 

Last year, Tyler canceled the festivities after logging in a lot hours on his on Call Me If You Get Lost Tour. “It’s really not that deep,” says Tyler’s manager Chris Clancy of the Goldenvoice-produced event. “Tyler toured all year and was busy with a number of projects. Reading the tea leaves and what’s happening with festivals coming out of the pandemic, we thought it would be best to come back next year.”

Check out the Camp Flog Gnaw website for more info on the festival. 

31 May 2023

Tyson Ritter Claims Machine Gun Kelly ‘Went Ballistic’ When He Made a Provocative Suggestion to Co-Star Megan Fox

Tyson Ritter is used to making audiences go wild as the frontman of All-American Rejects. But during a chat with radio host Stryker on his Tuna on Toast podcast, the singer-turned-occasional-actor shared an intense run-in he had with Machine Gun Kelly on the set of the recently released low-budget crime drama Johnny & Clyde that sounds pretty wild.

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In fact, Ritter said the confrontation was so fiery he used it as acting inspiration for his role in the upcoming film Prisoner’s Daughter with Kate Beckinsdale and Succession‘s Brian Cox. Ritter said among the plot points in the Johnny film — which he sighed is “kind of an okay… bad movie” — is Fox’s character, Alana Hart, teasing his henchman character Vince about putting a finger in her mouth.

Ritter thought it might be interesting to call back to that moment and put his fingers in Fox’s mouth during her death scene later in the film. “So I go over [to her trailer] and there’s her man in there with her. This Colson guy, who you know as Machine Gun Kelly,” he said of Fox’s rapper/rocker/actor fiancé. “I call him Pistol Pete. So I go over there and I was like, ‘Hey, Megan. I wanted to talk to you about this moment where, when you die, because you’ve been teasing putting my fingers in your mouth, that when you’re dead, I put my fingers in your mouth. And it’s like this sort of resolution to my character getting his revenge.”

According to Ritter, that’s when MGK allegedly lost it and gave him “the greatest gift” for his Daughter role. “Colson just goes from… zero to like awesome rage and awesome super angry… He was super-bummed about me asking if I could put my fingers in Megan Fox’s mouth. He just went ballistic. It kinda went maniac mode,” Ritter said, noting that he kept his cool as MGK was allegedly losing it. “I think the whole experience for me was, ‘What the actual f–k is happening?,’” Ritter recalled. ” He had this baby’s arm of a joint dangling out of his mouth. And he was fully unhinged.”

At press time spokespeople for Fox and MGK had not returned a request for comment.

Though it was off-putting, Ritter said the run-in helped him get into character for the other movie he was shooting at the same time, Prisoner’s Daughter, in which he plays a violent, hostile character. “I was like, this is what I’ve been looking for with my character on Prisoner’s Daughter,” Ritter said he thought while MGK was allegedly shouting at him. “Because the next day I had to shoot this scene in Vegas where this character goes in and confronts Kate Beckinsale, who’s his ex-wife, and he goes from zero to apes–t. And I didn’t, I was really struggling [with] how to flip that switch.”

While Ritter said he originally planned to use his relationship with his father to reach down deep for his character’s motivation, the alleged MGK incident helped him dial it in further. “I remember when Pistol Pete just started going ape on me, I was like, this is really confrontational, but also thank you, dude,” Ritter said. “A lot of my role, in that one moment especially, it’s not only my dad being his drunkest, wildest self, but there’s a little bit of Pistol Pete in my role for Prisoner’s Daughter.”

Johnny & Clyde dropped earlier this month and Prisoner’s Daughter is due out on June 30. All-American Rejects are slated to launch their first major tour since 2017 on June 16 at Phase Fest in Kansas City.

Watch the Johnny & Clyde trailer and the Stryker interview below.

31 May 2023

Watch a Violinist Deliver a Rockin’ System of a Down Cover on ‘America’s Got Talent’

Grammy-winning metal band System of a Down is best known for hair-raising hits such as “B.Y.O.B.” and “Aerials,” and now — thanks to America’s Got Talent contestant Phillip Bowen’s stunning violin cover of “Chop Suey!” on the show’s season premiere on Tuesday (May 30) — the world can enjoy an impressive reimagining of one of the band’s most beloved classics.

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Owning the stage with just his violin and a forest green baseball cap, the season 18 hopeful ripped through a rendition of “Chop Suey!” that retained the verve of System of a Down’s original. The band’s seminal hit peaked No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2002, and earned the California rockers their first Grammy nomination, for best metal performance.

Bowen punctuated his performances with bits of audience banter including “I got it!” and “Let’s Go!” His energy — both as a personality and a performer — was palpable, adding another layer of entertainment to his audition.

The most beautiful moment of Bowen’s performance, however, occurs just as his cover reaches the first intensity peak in “Chop Suey!” As he begins to get more visibly comfortable and lose himself in the music, the camera cuts to his proud mom crying tears of happiness in the audience. By the end of his performance, the audience rewarded Bowen with a fervent standing ovation, while the judges unanimously decided to advance the West Virginia native to the next round.

To date, System of a Down has earned five Hot 100 hits, including “B.Y.O.B.” (No. 27), “Hypnotize” (No. 57) and “Toxicity” (No. 70). The band has also charted five projects on the Billboard 200, including Toxicity, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, all of which have reached the summit.

31 May 2023

Davido Reveals His Favorite Nigerian Slang | Billboard News

Davido chatted with Billboard News and talked about some of his favorite Nigerian slang!

DAVIDO:
Yo, what’s up? It’s your boy Davido, and these are some Nigerian slang. Let’s go!

The first one is “Yawa,” that’s Y-A-W-A, which means, like, “trouble.” So, if somebody hits me up like, “Yo, yawa do,” that mean it’s like, “Oh, there’s trouble.”

Another one is “Comot,” C-O-M-O-T. Basically say like, “Come out,” but like you say it in a different way, broken English.

“Otilo.” Otilo means like, “It’s gone,” like, “It’s out of here,” like, “It’s lit.” Otilo.

Those are some Nigerian slangs. Hope you enjoyed it!

31 May 2023

Swizz Beatz, Lloyd Banks, Joey Bada$$ & G Herbo Give Their Best Advice on Grieving a Loved One

As we close Mental Health Awareness Month, Billboard is focusing on grieving, after the hip-hop community has suffered so many tragic losses over the last few years. As Black men continue to become susceptible to gun violence, many artists have begun opening up about the importance of therapy — or at least positively embracing pain, whether that’s through music, journaling or even getting a tattoo that pays homage to your lost ones.

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Billboard spoke to Swizz Beatz, Lloyd Banks, Joey Bada$$, and G Herbo about what their best advice is for overcoming a loss and moving forward. See what each man said below. 

Swizz Beatz

I think the best thing is to take the time that’s needed. To figure out how you want to grieve. I’m still not over [DMX]. I still have moments, but I’ve got to a good space because X actually came to me and let me know that he was okay. I couldn’t even listen to [“Ruff Ryders’ Anthem”] I wasn’t even prepared for it. It just breaks me up. I’m like, “Damn.” It’s the only song to ever do that. All the other songs, I’m cool. [That song] is like a trigger for me. Then he came and kinda was like, “I’m good.” I seen the whole s–t. 

You just gotta be open-minded. Grieving has no ending to it. It’s like when a person comes to your mind like, “Damn.” Sometimes I just have to have a moment to be like, “Damn.” I don’t even feel like he’s gone though. I be like, “X really not here.” Taking the time out to think about that is crazy, sometimes. I start thinking about the s–t we was about to do. The things we didn’t get the chance to do. That’s why now I gotta do everything and go.

Lloyd Banks

Embrace [the pain.] I got four family members in the same cemetery. I often go every Sunday or every other Sunday. I drive over, buy flowers, lay the flowers down and talk to ’em. That’s just what I do, especially on a significant day. Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, things like that. If I come back from out of town, that’s just what I do. I’m very spiritual with that type of thing. A lot of people say it but they don’t do that. 

My therapy is the music, especially as I’ve gotten older because now I know how to express myself through the music. When you’re in your mid-to-late 20s, you have this bravado and cockiness to you. Years later, I’ve matured and I understand how important it is to tell somebody else they’re special or to treat yourself like you’re special. I’ve learned to relay that message to my fans in a multitude of ways. 

I saw a clip that showed the process after somebody passes. There’s extreme hurt — devastation. Everything stops, right? The immediate family has to go from that trauma and then holding it together to actually planning a burial. So now you gotta talk to these people who conduct themselves as professionals. You gotta put these people to the ground and then you see cousins, family, friends and people you haven’t seen since the last person passed, and the immediate family goes home with that mourning more than everybody else, like, “Yo. We gotta do this again other than when people die.” And then you don’t see them until the next person dies.

Now, you go home and the first anniversary comes. You celebrate, you have a party and food. You might even have it again, but what happens five years down the line? It’s you, your brother, your close ones. And 10 years down the line? It might just be two to three of y’all embracing that s–t.

Where I’m from, we don’t forget. Embrace it. Remember the good times and what they mean to you. Go talk to ’em. 

G Herbo

With me, I just like to focus on good things. When I think about negative things or when I’m grieving a loss of a friend or family member, I try to focus on the next best thing for myself — whether it’s like a vivid memory or something to makes me smile, or maybe the motivation of just waking up and wanting to work everyday and do better for myself and my family and just know that the people I was blessed to have that aren’t here anymore just wanted to see me win and do good in life.

So when I think of those memories and those relationships that I had with the people that I lost, it keeps me going — because I know they would just want to see me striving and be the best version of myself. When it comes to grief, you can’t ever pinpoint how it’s going to make you feel or when you may think about a love one, it just happens out of nowhere. There’s [no] real formula or process with showing people how to grieve. I think it’s more of being in-tune with your emotions.

Joey Bada$$

I recently successfully grieved, if that makes sense. I can’t tell you what it looks like for me now. I don’t even want to think about having to grieve anything or anyone right now, but I could imagine that my approach now at this age would be more direct and head-on. I just buried things and I would go around and try to substitute grieving time with work and anything that would take my attention away from grieving a loved one or a situation. Now, I would try to do my best to deal with it.

31 May 2023

HHW Gaming: ‘League of Legends’ Players Overwhelmingly Down For A Walkout Following Latest Riot Decision

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League of Legends Players Overwhelmingly In Favor of Walkout

Source: Gerald Matzka / Getty / League of Legends

The North American League of Legends esports league players have a huge gripe and are walking out.

Riot Games made an interesting decision by no longer requiring teams to field an amateur team. In response, players in the League of Legends league have voted overwhelmingly to walk out in protest of the decision, the LCS Players Association representing North American League of Legends esports players said in a tweet.

“The walk out vote has overwhelmingly passed,” the statement begins.

“This is not a decision LCS players have come to lightly. Countless discussions and debates were had between all LCS players in the week leading to this historic vote. One thing is clear from those conversations – our players want to play and compete above all else. Joining hands to put competition aside is a testament to the significance and urgency of the issues at hand.”

“We stand at this impasse because actions were taken by Riot without prior communication or discussion with the LCS players. The LCSPA sincerely hopes Riot will avert this walk out by joining us in the coming days to have open and transparent discussions so that we can forge collaborative solutions to ensure the best futures for the LCS and the NACL,” the statement concludes.

When Will The Walkout Happen?

The Verge reports that franchises have already dropped their amateur teams since the announcement cut off the ability for budding League of Legends players to compete in the League Championship Series (LCS).

The walkout has no date, but according to the website, it could go down at the beginning of summer (June 1). “We are not announcing the official date or duration at this time in order to make planning and pursuing scab labor a more difficult task,” LCSPA executive director Phil Aram told the website in an email.

The Fallout From The Decision

Players have been voicing their frustration with the league’s decision on Twitter since Riot announced the decision on May 12. In a statement, the LCSPA said, “Over 50 percent of current LCS pros came up through the NACL / Academy system.”

In a tweet, Palafox, a player for NRG’s LCS team, said, “I wouldn’t be in [the] LCS had it not been for Academy.” Chime, a player for TSM, added, “The Academy / NACL system gave me the opportunity to pursue a pro career.”

Five out of the tent teams, 100 Thieves, Cloud9, Dignitas, Golden Guardians, and NRG in the LCS, also said on Twitter they would not be participating in the upcoming NACL this summer. The LCSPA said two more teams, TSM and Immortals, would not have teams in the NACL either.

Riot’s decision could directly result from the struggle that esports in North America has become. Franchises have said in some statements that trying to keep an amateur team has become a challenge. 100 Thieves recently laid off 100 employees in January.

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Photo: Gerald Matzka / Gett

31 May 2023

Taylor Swift Responds to Keke Palmer’s ‘Karma’ Praise: ‘I Love U So Much’

Karma takes all of Taylor Swift‘s friends to the summit — and one of them might now be Keke Palmer. That’s because the two stars recently shared an adorable exchange on Instagram, with the singer-songwriter responding to the Nope actress’ glowing review of her Midnights single “Karma.”

“Omg I love u so much,” Swift commented under a video of Palmer praising the track, posted Saturday (May 27).

In her video, the Broadway star jams out in the car with “Karma” blasting through her speakers. “Karma is me getting everything I want!” she tells the camera. “For anybody that’s ever tried you, anybody that tried to get away with hurting you, taking advantage — YOU get the last laugh.”

In her caption, she wrote, “It’s always going to be miss Swift’s lyricism for me.”

“It’s always some fluffy vibes with weighted a– sentiment!” added Palmer, who in February welcomed her first child with boyfriend Darius Jackson.

The Alice star isn’t the only one giving “Karma” some love these days. Ice Spice recently hopped on the track for a single-ready remix, and joined Swift onstage three nights at a row to debut the collaboration live at the pop star’s Eras Tour shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The pair also teamed up for a “Karma” music video, which Swift premiered at the first of the three shows.

“Getting to know her has been so special because I am blown away by her,” Swift later gushed over Ice. “In my opinion, she’s the one to watch. Watching her work ethic and how thoughtfully she approaches her career, she’s like my new favorite artist and I’m so honored that she’s on the song.”

See Keke Palmer’s video, and Swift’s comment, below: