djfrosty

25 Apr 2023

Taeyang Releases Second EP ‘[Down to Earth]’ & Sizzling Dance Video With BLACKPINK’s Lisa

Taeyang‘s highly anticipated second EP has finally arrived. The BIGBANG singer released his newest project, [Down to Earth], on Tuesday (April 25), and it features two superstar collaborations with Lisa from BLACKPINK and Jimin of BTS.

“This album comes from various emotions and inspirations that I felt underneath my skin as I gazed at the sunset,” the K-pop star shared in a press release. “The sunset, which decorates a day’s end, welcomes the dark night and not a new morning. Just like the sunset, my world is colored with beautiful memories of the past, but what came back to me was the ceaseless night that followed. Thus, I began to realize that the image of myself over the past six years was not much different than the sunset.”

He continued, “In a way, I was deeply touched and felt relief by the silent sunset and how it greets the night, fulfilling its role in the most beautiful way possible. The repetitive and burdensome times that I could not overcome alone guided me ‘back to the drawing board’. Thus, this album allowed me to capture my heart that was ready to jump back up into a fresh new start.”

Jimin featured on the album’s first single, “VIBE,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales in January. New to fans is Taeyang’s collaboration with Lisa, the hip-hop and R&B heavy track “Shoong!” The song debuted alongside a sizzling performance video, in which the duo hit intricate choreography moves, and are supported by backup dancers.

“You keep my engine on purr, you could never get swerved/ How you move ’round the curves make me, ooh/ You got that thing that I want, know your love hit the spot/ And you never should stop, baby, shoong,” Lisa raps on her sultry verse for the track.

The album also includes tracks “Seed,” “Reason,” “Inspiration (featuring Beenzino)” and
“Nightfall (feat. Bryan Chase).”

Watch the music video for “Shoong!” above, and stream [Down to Earth] below.

25 Apr 2023

Goldenvoice Renews Contract With Historic Santa Barbara Bowl

Concert promoter Goldenvoice of AEG Presents has re-upped its partnership with the historic Santa Barbara Bowl, extended its booking contract through 2032, company officials tell Billboard.

Built in the 1930s under the federal Work Projects Administration as part of President Franklin Roosevelt‘s New Deal, the sandstone-kissed 4,500-seat open-air rock and roll coliseum has hosted concerts by the likes of Bob Marley, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and more.

Since the early 1990s, the Bowl has been managed by the not-for-profit Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation and programed by long-time talent buyer Moss Jacobs. For most of the 1990s, Jacobs was aligned with concert promoter Goldenvoice, which held the booking contract until the 2001 purchase of Goldenvoice by AEG. Jacobs left Goldenvoice that year and joined Nederlander Concerts as a vp of booking, bringing the booking rights to the bowl with him. In 2016, he quit Nederlander and went back to Goldenvoice, where he works as a Goldenvoice senior vp. Following his 2016 exit, the foundation exercised a key man clause in its contract with Nederlander, allowing it to end its deal and hand booking rights back to Goldenvoice.

“The Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation has been a vital partner,” states Jacobs, “helping Goldenvoice to foster incredible talent at one of the finest outdoor venues in the world. The Foundation understands the significance of partnering with a substantial national organization to benefit this amazing local community. This contract will allow us to build on the foundation of past great events to improve the already amazing stature of the Santa Barbara Bowl.”

Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation executive director Rick Boller said he was “thrilled to sign this booking agreement with Goldenvoice for another decade.” Since taking over management of the facility, the foundation has helped raise over $43 million for capital improvements at the Bowl.

25 Apr 2023

Latin Woman of the Year Shakira: A ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘The Definition of Music’ 

This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.

In the last 12 months, Shakira has placed four songs at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts and has broken 14 Guinness World Records. She has also been celebrated with a retrospective exhibit at the Grammy Museum. 

Oh, and she has sparked something of a female revolution along the way. 

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The Colombian superstar turned one of the most difficult years of her life into an unprecedented return to Spanish-language music by opening her heart to teach us that it’s OK to be vulnerable, and even “cash in” when suffering from heartbreak. 

The latest winning streak by the artist — who was already the woman with the most top 10 hits on Hot Latin Songs (34), the most No. 1s on Latin Airplay (18) and the most entries on Latin Pop Airplay (50), among other milestones — began in April 2022 with “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro. The song reached No. 1 on the Latin Airplay and the Latin Pop Airplay charts, the latter of which Shakira had not led since “Clandestino” with Maluma four years earlier. 

Then came the heartfelt bachata “Monotonía” with Ozuna, which peaked at No. 1 on Latin Airplay and spent six weeks atop the chart. 

Shakira finished off the trilogy in January with the forceful “Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, in which she declared her new motto: “Women don’t cry anymore, they cash in.” The song earned her her first No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs since “Chantaje” with Maluma in 2016. 

The track also “cashed in” by breaking 14 Guinness World Records, including most played Latin song on Spotify in 24 hours (14.4 million) and most viewed video on YouTube in 24 hours (63 million). 

“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish,” Shakira posted on social media, in Spanish. “I want to embrace the millions of women who stand up to those who make us feel insignificant… They are my inspiration,” she added. 

Shakira

Shakira

Jaume de la Iguana

And just when it seemed like she had said it all, she made history again with “TQG” with Karol G. The collaboration — an explosive goodbye kiss for their respective exes — not only debuted at the top of Hot Latin Songs, but also earned both Colombian powerhouses their first No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. 

Having back-to-back hits is nothing new for Shakira, who debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001 with “Whenever, Wherever” and hit No. 1 in 2006 with “Hips Don’t Lie.” But being at the top of the global charts two decades later, singing in Spanish, reaffirms her place as a true superstar — one capable of transcending languages, generations and borders as very few can. 

“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish”

Shakira

And her influence and contributions go far beyond music. Shakira has been an advocate of education through her Fundación Pies Descalzos, which since 1997 has built and adapted nine public schools in Colombia that have benefited more than 152,000 children and their families. “It’s part of my mission,” she told Billboard nearly a decade ago, and she has kept it that way. 

In this inaugural edition of Latin Women in Music, the Woman of the Year — for her unprecedented past and current success — is, unquestionably, Shakira. 

Maluma, Bizarrap, Carlos Vives, Camilo and More on Shakira’s Staying Power

“Working with Shakira, I immediately realized exactly why she is such a powerhouse in our industry. She is phenomenally talented, hardworking, relentlessly detailed-oriented and always delivers musical excellence.” —Maluma, artist

“The importance of having a Shakira in our music industry as a Colombian, a woman, or an artist, is that she teaches us with her example that we can have our own voice; that difference coupled with excellence and delivery make a good combo.” —Goyo, artist 

“Shakira isn’t a powerhouse. Shakira invented powerhouse. She has the nerve and the talent. Everything else is ‘only’ a great capacity to work and give it all.” —Alejandro Sanz, artist 

“Shakira is a tireless warrior, megatalented and capable of getting up and reinventing herself every day. Nothing is impossible for her. Not in her profession, nor in her personal life.” —Afo Verde, chairman/CEO, Sony Music Latin Iberia 

“Shakira represents so many women so well that she deserves to be Woman of the Year. She’s like a force who has the power to protect [others] in times of difficulty. … I remember when we were doing the video for ‘La Bicicleta’ when I managed to break the protocol and we ended up roaming through the neighborhood and arriving at her school. At that moment I think she was like Shakira the pelaíta, the girl from Barranquilla. She ordered the director to ‘follow us already,’ and we started. And that moment is felt in the video.” —Carlos Vives, artist 

Shakira

Shakira

Jaume de la Iguana

“I’ve worked with everyone. Whitney, Michael Jackson, and I’ve never experienced that [level of] detail. She conducts a session like she’s teaching! … This girl, she’s the definition of music.” —Will.i.am, artist-producer 

“I was proud to be a part of her growth from the beginning of her career, and she deserves everything she has achieved. Her great talent, her perseverance; she has always put her passion first to bring something new to music and her fans. [When I met her,] she didn’t speak any English, and I said, ‘We’re going to do the crossover with you.’ … Six months later, she went for an interview and she spoke English better than me.” —Emilio Estefan, producer-composer 

“What’s most impressive about Shakira, beyond what a multifaceted and talented force she is as an artist, is just how far-reaching her impact is … I remember my first trip to Colombia with her many years ago to inaugurate one of the new schools she built through her Pies Descalzos Foundation, I was so blown away to see and hear firsthand how knowledgeable, passionate and committed she was to providing universal access to quality education for all in her country, and how intolerant she was of achieving anything less. I saw then how her dogged perseverance is to thank for her level of success.” —Jaime Levine, manager 

“Working with her was a master class in my career. She’s an artist in every sense, a tireless worker, talented and kind. No. 1 without a doubt.” —Jorge Ferradas, founder of FPM Entertainment and former member of Shakira’s management team 

“Only wonderful things happen to people who are absolutely dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Shakira is one of those people. … For me as an artist, and especially as a Colombian artist, having such a reference since I was very little pushed me to be the best version of myself. When I was able to meet her and sing with her, I was able to confirm that everything I thought and felt was true.” —Camilo, artist 

“Collaborating with Shakira this year was an incredible experience for me, from which I learned a lot. We worked a lot on this song [‘BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53’], right up to the last minute! I thought I was detailed until I met Shakira.” —Bizarrap, DJ-producer 

“I know Shakira the artist, and it is no secret to anyone that she is incredible. But I also know Shakira the mom, and this version of her is at another level. The way she loves and gives her life for her two children is admirable. Seeing how she enjoys her children, how she talks about them with such pride, how she takes them into account for everything, makes me admire her more.” —Keityn, artist-composer 

Tickets to Billboard‘s Latin Women In Music can be purchased here.

25 Apr 2023

From Merle Haggard to Miranda Lambert, All the ACM Award Winners for Entertainer of the Year

Who will win entertainer of the year at the 58th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11?

Miranda Lambert could win for the second year in a row, which would make her only the third woman to win more than once in this category, following Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.

Either Underwood or Jason Aldean could take it for the fourth time, a total reached by only three acts in ACM history – Garth Brooks, who leads with six awards; Alabama, which is second with five wins; and Kenny Chesney, who has won four times. If Underwood wins, she would extend her lead as the woman with the most wins in the category.

Or we could see a first-time winner.

Kane Brown could make history as the first Black or biracial entertainer of the year winner. (Charley Pride won entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards, but not here, despite three nominations.) Either Brown or Morgan Wallen would also be the first male artist to win before turning 30 since Brooks in 1991. (Wallen hits the Big 3-0 two days after the ceremony.) A win for Wallen would cap a fast comeback from the career crisis caused by his videotaped use of a racial slur in early 2021.

Luke Combs, who has won the CMA award for entertainer of the year the last two years, could finally win the top prize at this show. Chris Stapleton, a three-time ACM winner for male artist of the year, could finally win entertainer of the year on his fifth try in the category.

The show will be hosted by two former entertainer of the year winners – Dolly Parton (who in 1978 became the second woman to win the award) and Brooks. It will be held at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Tex. and will stream on Amazon Prime.

Twenty-seven artists have won the ACM Award for entertainer of the year since the award was introduced on the 1971 telecast. Here’s a complete list, showing the year(s) in which they won, other ACM Awards they won that year in competitive categories (if any), their total number of ACM entertainer of the year nominations; and, just for fun, their highest-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

25 Apr 2023

Grimes Reluctantly Considers Some Rules to Her No-Rules A.I. Vocal Project: ‘We Expect a Certain Amount of Chaos’

Grimes loves to push the envelope. But after telling her fans that she’s down with “open sourcing all art and killing copyright” in a series of tweets on Sunday night, and offering to split royalties 50/50 with any successful AI-generated song that uses her voice,” the no rules singer realized she might need some guardrails after all.

“Ok hate this part but we may do copyright takedowns ONLY for rly rly toxic lyrics w Grimes voice,” she tweeted on Monday afternoon (April 24). “imo you’d rly have to push it for me to wanna take smthn down but I guess plz don’t be *the worst*. as in, try not to exit the current Overton window of lyrical content w regards to sex/violence. Like no baby murder songs plz.”

The mother of two with ex Elon Musk then went further, openly debating with herself whether issuing takedown notices after making the open call for facsimile Grimes songs with no limits would make her a hypocrite. “I think I’m Streisand effecting this now but I don’t wanna have to issue a takedown and be a hypocrite later,” she said in reference to an attempt to censor or hide a piece of information that only serves to further shine a spotlight on it.

“***That’s the only rule. Rly don’t like to do a rule but don’t wanna be responsible for a Nazi anthem unless it’s somehow in jest a la producers I guess,” she added in a nod to the 1967 Mel Brooks satirical comedy, The Producers, about the staging a Nazi musical. (Grimes admitted in a later tweet that she has never seen The Producers and that the plan was to wing it and “send takedown notices to scary stuff,” before adding that she’s not even sure her team is capable of sending takedown notices.)

“wud prefer avoiding political stuff but If it’s a small meme with ur friends we prob won’t penalize that. Probably just if smthn is viral and anti abortion or smthn like that,” she said, reiterating that she really doesn’t like adding rules after the fact and apologizing and saying “but this is the only thing.”

When a commenter said it sounded like Grimes was definitely “streisand-ing this situation,” she responded, “Yes but I gotta say it. And if it’s a meme to make awful grimes songs it’ll prob be a week of hard work for us but not a boring outcome. I imagine the DAN// Sidney Bing going murderous equivalent will have to happen with vocal deepfakes and I’m entertained if that happens to us.”

Another commenter noted that the potential for offensive or gross posts “should’ve been their [Grimes’ team’s] first thought,” which the singer said it actually was. “I just didn’t think the original post abt ai wud be a thing, like it was sort of a casual post so my poor team is just catching up with now having to organize all this,” she said.

In a tweet referencing this weekend’s disastrous roll-up of non-paying blue checkmarks on Musk’s Twitter — which was chaotic and later reversed in part for some well-known users who adamantly refused to pay for their legacy checkmarks — a user joked that Grimes had “learned from Elon! Twitter announcement first, then let’s figure out the details after.”

Grimes turned what could have been a diss into a positive, noting, “In my defense this has always been a Grimes feature too.”

The back-and-forth continued when a user said even with takedowns Grimes could still end up in an “uncomfortable situation” where an offensive song could still be out in the world “misleading people until the end of time,” as things tend to do on the internet.

Her response to that one was classic Grimes : “We expect a certain amount of chaos,” she said. “Grimes is an art project, not a music project. The ultimate goal has always been to push boundaries rather than have a nice song. The point is to poke holes in the simulation and see what happens even if it’s a bad outcome for us.”

Most importantly, fans wanted to know when the software will be available for other artists to try it out with their voices. The good news, according to Grimes, is that it’s already out there and she was busy collecting resources. In even better news, she also told her followers that she has “lots of real Grimes songs ready to go too.”

Fans have been eagerly awaiting any news about Grimes’ next album, the as-yet-unscheduled BOOK 1, after she recently said that “music is my side quest now. Tbh reduced pressure x increased freedom = prob more music just ideally ‘Low key I’ll always do my best to entertain whilst depleting my literal reputation I hope that’s ok I love y’all.”

The musician’s most recent album was 2020’s Miss Anthropocene, which included the singles “Violence,” “So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth,” “My Name Is Dark” and “Delete Forever.” Since then, she’s also released one-off songs including 2021’s “Player of Games” and last year’s “Shinigami Eyes.”

Grimes’ AI tease came a week after a fake song featuring A.I.-generated vocals from Drake and The Weeknd, “Heart on My Sleeve,” was pulled from streaming services after going viral.

“I’ll split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that uses my voice,” she promised while announcing the AI project, a stance that was in stark opposition to Universal Music Group, which acted quickly to condemn the “infringing content created with generative AI” that produced the phony superstar duet.

Check out Grimes’ tweets below.

25 Apr 2023

Collecting Societies Now Compete to Represent Writers and Publishers for Streaming

The world of collecting societies used to be simple: The French SACEM was pronounced “sa-sem,” the German GEMA was pronounced “gay-ma,” the international organization CISAC was pronounced “si-sak” (except in Europe, where it’s usually “see-zak”), and the American SESAC was pronounced “see-sak” (except in Europe, where it’s usually “say-zak”). Then the passage of the 2014 European Union (EU) collecting society directive made things really complicated.

That landmark legislation made the collecting societies compete to represent songwriters and publishers in the online world in Europe. While the European societies would continue to collect from the bars, concert venues and TV and radio stations in their home territories, they would now license to streaming services across Europe compositions from the rights holders they represented. And over the past decade, many other countries — much of the world, with notable exceptions that include the United States, China and Japan — have adopted this system. “All of the societies now compete to sign publishers and creators to represent,” says SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber.

Two global licensing giants are emerging from this competition: SACEM and ICE, a licensing hub formed as a joint venture by GEMA, the Swedish STIM and the British PRS for Music; Peter de Mönnink has run the Berlin-based ICE since early 2022. SACEM, the oldest songwriters collecting society in the world, collects for Universal Music Publishing online in most territories outside the United States, while ICE collects similar royalties for Sony Music Publishing; Warner Chappell Music’s rights are split between the two.

The societies behind ICE are also formidable on their own. Under CEO Andrea Martin, PRS for Music collected 777.1 million pounds ($960.3 million) in 2021, the last year for which results are available — a 22.4% increase over the previous year on a constant currency basis. Also in 2021, GEMA revenue increased 8.4% to 1 billion euros ($1 billion); the Munich-based society is expected to name a new CEO by summer because Harald Heker, who has helmed it since 2007, is said to be retiring this year. (By comparison, SACEM took in 1.1 billion euros [$1.2 billion] in 2021.) STIM had 2.2 billion kronor ($213.2 million) in 2021 revenue, up 13%, although Sweden is a far smaller country. (These financial results reflect 2021, since not all of the societies have released their 2022 numbers.) STIM has always been more important because “there is an exceptional demand for Swedish music,” says CEO Casper Bjørner, “and STIM has a strong focus on innovation of digital services for our members.” Besides its work with ICE, STIM also has a deal with a PanAsian licensing hub run by the Australian society APRA.

The budgets these societies possess give them the ability to compete globally — not all the smaller societies have the budgets to develop the technology to handle all the data that digital service providers offer. But the growing number of works they represent also give them more negotiating leverage. The interests of big and small societies alike, as well as those of creators in general, are represented by CISAC, a trade organization of collecting societies led by director general Gadi Oron.

Competition is usually collegial but fierce. SACEM has made deals to represent rights holders and societies from the Middle East and Francophone Africa, while ICE and PRS for Music have done better in English-speaking Africa. And, much as the EU envisioned, that competition among societies gives them an incentive to aggressively represent the interests of their clients. “We want to be the best collecting society in the world,” says Rap-Veber, “both in terms of revenue and also getting creators the most money possible.”

This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023, issue of Billboard.

25 Apr 2023

Above & Beyond’s Paavo Siljamäki Was Ready to Quit Dance Music — Now With His Solo Project, He’s Enjoying It More Than Ever

Over the past 25-plus years, Paavo Siljamäki has become a leading figured in the global dance music scene via his work with beloved trance trio Above & Beyond. Together, the guys — Siljamäki, Jono Grant and Tony McGuinness — have played all the world’s major festivals, launched a radio show, an international event series and the eternally influential Anjunbeats and Anjundadeep labels, all the while cultivating a fanbase whose devotion veers toward the religious.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Siljamäki was ready to walk away from it all.

The Finnish producer entered a period of burnout in 2019, feeling depressed, depleted and unsure if he wanted to keep making electronic music or any music at all. It was a dilemma he calls “existential,” as he deliberated starting an entirely new career. The situation was compounded when he became seriously sick with COVID in the spring of 2019, the beginning of the pandemic. He recovered, then got COVID again. Then again. Then again.

But over time, he started healing not just his physical body but the mental/emotional part of himself through a perhaps unsurprising form of medicine: clubbing. Going out dancing with friends at clubs and festivals, he rediscovered the reason he started making electronic music in the first place: his love of the genre and the cathartic, often ecstatic experience is facilitates and the community of music-lovers that populate this world.

So he didn’t start that tech company, he just started making music. Initially meant to be a purely creative endeavor, the sounds that were coming out — deeper than the often anthemic sounds of Above & Beyond — eventually formed a solo album, Deeper Tales, released last week Friday (April 21) via Anjunabeats.

This project — made under Siljamäki’s longstanding P.O.S. moniker — is dually dark and ebullient, from the chromatic synth of opener “Is It OK?” to the directly joyful “Polar Bears” (with lontime Ajuna artist Spencer Brown) to the tough, shimmeringly sexy “Tahiti Burning Sunset.”

Now dividing his time between the road, his house in the forest of Finland and extended forays into nature (he and his girlfriend live on a sailboat in the winter), Siljamäki took the music on an eight-date U.S. tour this past March, playing the new tracks to fellow dance fans in packed clubs. It was, he says, as medicinal for him as it was for them.

“I have a lot more tracks waiting to come out as well,” he says. “I’m going to keep P.O.S. as a vehicle where I can experiment, and hopefully this then leads to being a better part of the A&B team, creating fresh vibes for tracks with the guys.”

Here, Siljamäki discusses the project.

In the press release for this album you’re quoted saying that you weren’t even sure if you liked electronic music anymore. What was that like, that uncertainty?

It was really difficult for me. Most people that go through a full-on burnout — you almost turn your back and start, like, hating everything you’ve done. For me, it was almost like, “What if I don’t want to be a musician? What am I gonna do?” It’s like, an existential question. I really had to think about this, because I’ve made music since I was four years old. What if I feel like music has kind of let me down? What am I going to do?

What became your alternatives?

I actually looked at setting up a technology company, because I’m thinking we can look after the environment through technological innovation. I’ve been doing a lot of coding. I thought, “Maybe I’ll just run a technology company and make the world better that way.” But then then, over time, there were moments when my friends dragged me to a music studio. I was like, “I can’t bear it.” They were playing me loud music. And I was like, “Oh, but it feels good.”

What era are we talking about when you were really considering quitting?

2019 was probably my low moment. I was suffering. I was really depressed at the time. And then we obviously went straight into COVID on top of that.

You and I spoke in 2020 about how you’d been really sick with COVID. It was early on in the pandemic, so people still didn’t have a lot of information, and I don’t think a lot of people knew someone that had been sick, certainly not as sick as you were. But my understanding is that you then were sick again and again, and your burnout was compounded with a health crisis. Is that correct?

I’ve had COVID four times now. It’s become an annual reset. But out of all the struggle, a lot of really great stuff came, because now I’ve really found myself clubbing again, which I really hadn’t done for a long time. I’ve really found myself in nature. I’ve gotten into sailing. I’ve been together with my girlfriend now for two and a half years traveling the world together. Things have clicked into place. I still have a lot to resolve, I guess. But at least I’m really enjoying making music. Mentally I’m in a good space, so things are better now.

It’s interesting that you’ve found clubbing to be one of the antidotes. It seems perhaps a bit counterintuitive, when I think of health. I’m fascinated by this idea of how to sustainably grow up in the dance scene and take care of ourselves and do it in a way that doesn’t compromise your health. What are you finding there?

The thing I realized when I was first getting into clubbing was that I always felt like I didn’t fit in. I was a bit of a weirdo. And then I go clubbing, and I feel so accepted. It was kind of a safe space to just enjoy music and be yourself. Now that I’ve been going through all these things, it’s been really amazing for me to go to festivals. Especially when I was feeling like, “Oh, maybe if I didn’t make music…” Then I go clubbing and come out of a festival thinking like, “I do have something I want to say, something I want to do in the scene. I really, actually feel like I can contribute. There’s a reason for me to exist in this game we call dance music.”

What exactly was that reason?

I feel like what me solo, and [Above & Beyond] as a band do does something really nice in the clubbing scene. I’ve met so many people now on the dance floor. The Anjuna family and the culture, everything we’ve created — I’ve been at the receiving end of it on the dance floor, and it’s pretty awesome.

So you’re kind of feeling the impact of the work you do, and it’s having a positive effect on you that you can give that to other people?

I’ve felt the pressure sometimes. Let’s say I did think my days as a musician are done — then I feel responsibility to all those people. But now [I’m] actually going through that thing, and being really helped by a lot of people and clubbing and having fun with people.

I’m curious if like you’re finding certain pockets of the club world and the festival world that are resonating with you particularly heavily right now.

I’ve loved going to parties and hearing people play that I didn’t even know. One guy that was really amazing was DJ Tennis. We were at this festival in Miami and oh my god, he played such good stuff. I’ve always loved Hernan Cattaneo’s sets. I’ve also been really impressed by people when I didn’t even know who was playing. Tat’s also great.

So how does your P.O.S. fold into all of this? Why is now the right time for it?

When I was starting to fall in love with dance music again, I thought, “Okay, let me go and make some music.” The music was coming out, I was basically producing music where I didn’t initially feel like I could put it in an Above & Beyond set at EDC. It was deeper. For a little while, I was thinking, “This is a problem.” But then I thought, “Actually, why don’t I just make something and see what happens?”

Now that I’ve been making dance music for about two and a half years, it’s getting kind of tougher and more high-energy. It’s been really interesting to see how it’s changing. The P.O.S. music has been a totally free experimentation. I’ve done so much material and some of it I’ve come back to and thought, “There’s something really nice in this one, and this one, and this one isn’t good.” And from this, an album came out.

How was the tour?

That was like eight cities in 10 days, going back to these amazing clubs — small venues by the standard of what we do with Above & Beyond. Soundcheck in D.C. Coda in Toronto was amazing. Real nightclubs, where we started. It’s so personal. If you’re playing in arena, it’s a different kind of situation.

Certainly.

I went on the tour with about 35 tracks. People had heard maybe four or five of them before — so almost everything I was playing [during these two hours sets], people were hearing for the first time. It was really fascinating seeing what people responded to, because I get a totally raw, real response from people on the dancefloor. People respond differently to tracks they know, but when you’re hearing something for the first time, if it really works, it really really works.

What did you play that really, really worked?

There’s a track called “It’s Me” that we did with Spencer Brown and Marieme. We wrote it in L.A., and it’s been this instant there where it felt like people knew the track. There’s a track that’s not on the album called “Automatic” that slows down, and it’s almost a breakbeats thing. It has a big almost rollercoaster-y speed-up. That was always getting a cheer. “Let You Go” has been quite a big track, but it’s also been a big track because we had it on our [ABGT] radio show.

It’s just been nice playing these tracks and knowing people are getting goosebumps in there. It’s a different kind of response. It’s not like, hands in the air, but the feeling is great.

You sound really energized and excited. It’s wonderful to see that arc, because it sounds like your burnout was really brutal and long lasting.

It was. I’m not the only person going through those kinds of things on this planet, by any means. Hopefully there’s somebody [in the same position] I was three years ago reading this, and they can see that sometimes struggle can lead to new rediscoveries and alignments for one’s life.

When people have been doing something for a really long time, and they start looking at it thinking, “Is this really what I want to do?” I went looking for that question — and I found that, yeah, I really want to be a musician, and I really want to make dance music as well.

25 Apr 2023

2023 ACM Radio Award Winners Announced by Lainey Wilson, Breland & More

The Academy of Country Music enlisted a raft of country artists, including Lainey Wilson, Breland and Jelly Roll, to help reveal the winners of the 2023 ACM Radio Awards. The artists tossed a radio from one to another in a clever two-minute video in which the winners’ names were flashed on the screen. The video was posted on the Academy’s official social media pages on Tuesday (April 25). Other artists who participated included Priscilla Block, Russell Dickerson, Parker McCollum, Frank Lay, Lily Rose, Brooke Eden and LoCash.

Winners announced include two first-time on-air personality honorees, Elaina Smith of With Elaina for national weekly on-air personality of the year, and Julie and DJ of Julie and DJ in the Morning for medium market on-air personality of the year.

WIVK-FM in Knoxville, Tenn. and WYCT-FM in Pensacola, Fla. both take home their fifth total ACM Awards for medium market radio station of the year and small market radio station of the year, respectively.

Additional winners include George, Mo, and Erik of The Morning Bullpen with George, Mo, and Erik on KILT-FM in Houston and Big Dave, Stattman, and Ashley of The Big Dave Show on WUBE-FM in Cincinnati for major market and large market on-air personality of the year, respectively.

“The Academy congratulates all of our ACM Awards radio winners for championing the artists that make up the soundtrack of country fans’ lives,” Damon Whiteside, ACM CEO said in a statement. “Country radio has always been and continues to be one of the most important ways for today’s favorite artists to connect with fans, and for fans to find up-and-coming acts to fall in love with.”

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is set to take place on Thursday, May 11 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, TX. Country legends Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are set to host the show, which bills itself as “country music’s party of the year.” The two-hour show will stream live without commercial interruption on Prime Video worldwide for the second year in a row.

The show will stream at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase on SeatGeek.

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions, with Raj Kapoor, Barry Adelman and Fonda Anita serving as executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the ACM. Patrick Menton is co-executive producer.

Below is a complete list of the radio award winners for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards:

On-air personality of the year winners:

National daily – Big D, Bubba, Patrick Thomas, Carsen | The Big D and Bubba Show

National weekly – Elaina Smith | With Elaina

Major market – George, Mo and Erik | The Morning Bullpen with George, Mo, and Erik – KILT – Houston

Large market – Big Dave, Stattman & Ashley | The Big Dave Show – WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio

Medium market – Julie Kansy and Dale Sellers | Julie and DJ in the Morning – WPCV – Lakeland, Fla.

Small market – Steve Waters and Tiffany Kay | Steve & Tiffany in the Morning – WFLS – Fredericksburg, Va.

Radio station of the year winners:

Major market – KKBQ – Houston

Large market – WSIX – Nashville

Medium market – WIVK – Knoxville, Tenn.

Small market – WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.

25 Apr 2023

Morgan Wallen Claims 10th-Longest Reign on Billboard Artist 100 Chart

Morgan Wallen scores a 13th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated April 29), continuing his reign as the top musical act in the United States thanks to the extended domination of his new LP, One Thing at a Time.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The album scores a seventh week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 166,000 equivalent album units earned (April 14-20), according to Luminate. His previous LP, Dangerous: The Double Album, is also contributing to Wallen’s Artist 100 performance, as the set rises 6-5 on the Billboard 200. The latter has now spent 116 weeks in the top 10, the second-longest top 10 total in the chart’s history, after only the original cast recording of My Fair Lady (173 weeks, 1956-60).

Plus, Wallen places 12 songs on the current Billboard Hot 100, led by former three-week leader “Last Night” at No. 2. He charted a one-week record 36 songs on the survey dated March 18, all from One Thing at a Time. Here’s a recap of his entries on the latest list:

Rank, Title

  • No. 2, “Last Night”
  • No. 18, “You Proof”
  • No. 22, “Thinkin’ Bout Me”
  • No. 24, “One Thing at a Time”
  • No. 25, “Thought You Should Know”
  • No. 61, “Ain’t That Some”
  • No. 64, “Everything I Love”
  • No. 66, “I Wrote the Book”
  • No. 67, “Cowgirls,” feat. ERNEST
  • No. 68, “Man Made a Bar,” feat. Eric Church
  • No. 84, “Sunrise”
  • No. 98, “’98 Braves”

With 13 weeks logged at No. 1 on the Artist 100, Wallen breaks out of a tie with Billie Eilish for the 10th-most weeks totaled atop the chart, since it began in 2014. Taylor Swift leads with 64, followed by Drake (37), The Weeknd (28), BTS (21), Adele (20), Ariana Grande (15), Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Ed Sheeran (14 apiece).

Meanwhile, Metallica vaults 35-2 on the Artist 100, returning to its peak, thanks to the group’s new LP, 72 Seasons. The set starts at No. 1 on Top Rock Albums and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 146,000 units earned. That’s the biggest week for a rock album since Tool’s Fear Inoculum in 2019 (270,000). 72 Seasons also opens at No. 1 on both Top Album Sales (134,000) and Vinyl Albums (43,000).

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

25 Apr 2023

Chart Rewind: Harry Belafonte Was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 When It Launched in 1956

On March 24, 1956, the legendary Harry Belafonte crowned Billboard‘s first weekly albums chart — then billed Best Selling Pop Albums in Billboard magazine’s pages — with his smash set Belafonte. The entertainer, producer and activist died on Tuesday (April 25) at 96 of congestive heart failure.

Decades later, the ranking now known as the Billboard 200 remains the chart of record for America’s most-popular albums each week, fueled by consumption tracked by Luminate.

As for Belafonte, aka the King of Calypso, 1956 was a busy year. He was already a Tony Award winner for his work in the 1953 musical revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac and, after topping the albums chart with Belafonte, he notched a second No. 1 in September 1956 with Calypso.

Kept afloat in large part by its hit single “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” Calypso spent a staggering 31 weeks at No. 1. It’s tied with the soundtrack to South Pacific and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours for the third-longest run on top in the chart’s history. The soundtrack to West Side Story is the all-time champ, with 54 weeks at the summit, and Michael Jackson’s career-defining Thriller is second with 37.

The Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Belafonte would continue to chart albums through 1970 and remain a cultural force, thanks, in part, to his social activism and philanthropy. Later generations would become familiar with Belafonte in striking ways: He helped organize (and sang on) the 1985 charity single “We Are the World,” a four-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, while “Day-O” was memorably mimed by the cast in the 1988 film Beetlejuice. In 2011, “Day-O” became a hit yet again, sampled in Lil Wayne’s top 10 Hot 100 hit “6 Foot 7 Foot.”

Belafonte told BET in 2011 that he appreciated the continued success of the iconic “Day-O”: “I’m just glad to see that the younger generations have picked it up and are carrying the song forward in their own way, just like I picked it up in my time.”