djfrosty

24 Apr 2023

Iam Tongi Earns Standing Ovation With ABBA Cover on ‘Idol’: Watch

ABBAmania is back in a big way. After a 40-year dormant spell, the Swedish pop foursome has laid on a smorgasbord of music, merch and events for fans to throw their money, from their 2021 comeback album Voyage to their “virtual” residency at a custom-built arena in London, which recently sold its one millionth ticket.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

When Iam Tongi took his place on stage for American Idol on Sunday night (March 23), the teen hopeful created a little ABBAmania of his own.

The highschooler from Hawaii has had an incredible ride in this 21st season of Idol — and he’s taken millions with him on the journey.

Tongi has carried pain from the loss of his father throughout. On the latest episode, the youngster explained that he’s still grieving from the loss his dad, his musical companion and mentor. “When I sing,” he adds, “it’s so easy to express myself.”

Each step along the way, Tongi has impressed the heck out of the judges, and grown in confidence. On the latest, Top 20 edition, he did it again, this time with a stripped-back interpretation of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All”. Just guitar and Tongi’s warm, buttery vocals.

The lad’s mom was in the house, leading a standing ovation.

“I guess this is called the Iam Tongi Show now,” Katy Perry quipped in the wrap-up. “Can you believe what you’ve done. You’re 18. Your voice is timeless. What you’re giving us is transcending everything and hitting everyone in a certain spot. It doesn’t matter how old or young they are. Watching you become a star, feels like I’m watching a Disney movie.”

Keep watching, below.

24 Apr 2023

Metallica Blasts to U.K. No. 1 With ’72 Seasons’

Metallica surges to the U.K. chart title with 72 Seasons (via Vertigo), for the U.S. metal giants’ fourth leader.

Debuting at the summit of the Official U.K. Albums Chart, 72 Seasons is the band’s first U.K. No. 1 in 15 years, and their ninth top 10.

Previously, James Hetfield and Co. led the weekly survey with 1991’s Metallica (aka The Black Album), 1996’s Load, and 2008’s Death Magnetic.

According to the Official Charts Company, 72 Seasons outsells the rest of the top 5 combined, and it’s the market-leader on vinyl. 72 Seasons led at the midweek stage, and finished its first chart week at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Fans in the U.K. can feel the noise when Metallica’s M72 World Tour 2023/4 stops by Download Festival at Donington Park, with performances on June 8 and June 10.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s hits compilation The Highlights (Republic Records/XO) lifts 3-2, for its equal high, doing so in its 115th week on the survey.

Taylor Swift isn’t in the U.K. – yet – with her The Eras Tour. Swifties in this part of the world, however, are ready and waiting for their hero, and they’re absorbing her records in the meantime. Five of Swift’s LPs moves up the latest tally: 2022’s Midnights (up 5-3), 2014’s 1989 (17-13), 2019’s Lover (20-15), 2020’s Folklore (25-20), and 2017’s Reputation (27-29) – all via EMI. The Eras Tour is currently working its way around the United States, with dates slated to wrap Aug. 9 at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. International shows, including the U.K., have not yet been announced.

Finally, Houston, TX rock act Waterparks slide to a debut U.K. top 10 appearance and a career high with Intellectual Property (Parlophone), their fifth studio album. It’s new at No. 10.

23 Apr 2023

Lewis Capaldi Delivers Late Knockout For U.K. Chart Title

Lewis Capaldi delivered a second-half knockout as “Wish You The Best” (via Vertigo) debuts at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.

With his latest feat, the Scottish singer and songwriter bags his fifth U.K. leader after “Someone You Loved” (from 2019), “Before You Go” (2019), “Forget Me” (2022) and “Pointless” (2023).

According to the Official Charts Company, Capaldi now sits alongside David Bowie, Beyoncé, Cheryl, All Saints and the Bee Gees among artists with five U.K. chart-topping singles to his name.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“With The Best” pulled off something of a miracle. The single, lifted from Capaldi’s forthcoming sophomore album Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, had trailed previous leader “Miracle” by Calvin Harris, and “Daylight,” by David Kushner, on the midweek survey before storming home in first place.

A special CD single and Capaldi’s Netflix documentary How I’m Feeling Now provide the punch. Almost 16,800 units of the single were shifted, the OCC reports, while two of his former leaders, “Forget Me” (up 8-7) and “Pointless” (up 17-16) are lifted by his emotional doc.

Desire to Be Heavenly Sent is scheduled for release May 19.

Meanwhile, “Miracle” (Columbia) dips 1-2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart and remains the most-streamed track in the country with 5.6 million plays. U.S. viral star David Kushner makes his top 10 debut on the latest chart, published Friday, April 21, with “Daylight” new at No. 3. Kushner’s only other appearance in the top 40 was 2022’s “Miserable Man,” which got over the line at No. 39.

Post Malone earns his 15th top 20 hit, and just misses out on a ninth top ten, as his new pop-leaning single “Chemical” (Republic Records) blasts to No. 11. It’s his best-positioned single since 2019’s “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” which also reached No. 11.

Finally, rising U.S. rapper Ice Spice enjoys her first U.K. top 40 appearance with “Princess Diana” (10K Projects/Capitol), which has found new life thanks to a remix featuring Nicki Minaj. It’s at No. 22 on the latest tally.

23 Apr 2023

Fans Choose Suga’s ‘D-Day’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Agust D aka Suga‘s D-Day has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (April 21) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s latest project as their favorite new music release of the past week.

D-Day brought in more than 49% of the vote, beating out new music from Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny, The Weeknd and Future and more.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The 10-track album released via Big Hit Music is Suga’s first solo full-length, which was led by the single “People Pt.2” featuring IU.

Upon dropping the lead single earlier this month, Sugar told Billboard he was “actually a little bit worried” about the return to his solo moniker. “‘People Pt.2’ was made thinking about how people will receive Agust D’s music, which is why we also featured [his former collaborator] IU. It’s kind of a trial to release this music under the name Agust D,” he said.

Trailing behind D-Day on the poll is Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “un x100to,” with 21% of the vote, and The Weeknd and Future’s “Double Fantasy,” with 17%.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

23 Apr 2023

Lizzo Brings Drag Queens on Stage, Protesting Tennessee Law

At a concert Friday night (April 20) in Knoxville, Tennessee, Lizzo filled the stage with drag queens in a glittery protest against the state’s legislation designed to restrict drag performances in public.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

While performing at Thompson-Boling Arena, the Grammy-winning “Juice” singer brought out a number of drag performers, including Aquaria, Kandy Muse, Asia O’Hara and Vanessa Vanji. On Saturday, Lizzo posted videos on Instagram from the show, including comments to the crowd that referenced the pending law.

In February, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation against “adult cabaret” in public or in front of minors. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law in late March, saying it was too vaguely written. Civil rights groups have criticized the law as a violation of free speech.

The Tennessee law is part of a wider Republican effort to restrict drag shows and other LGBTQ+ public gatherings.

“In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee,’” Lizzo said during the Friday concert. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most?”

“Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers and celebrate our differences?” added Lizzo.

23 Apr 2023

Dragon Bursts Into Flames During Disneyland’s ‘Fantasmic!’ Show

Spectators at Disneyland’s popular “Fantasmic!” show got a shock this weekend when the feature’s fire-breathing animatronic dragon suddenly burst into flames.

No injuries were reported following the blaze Saturday night (April 22) at the Southern California theme park, the Anaheim Fire Department said.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Ryan Laux, a frequent Disneyland visitor, said fire has always been a part of the “Fantasmic!” presentation. But he said he knew something was awry when when flames didn’t come from where they usually do.

“The head started going on fire instead of the fire projecting out,” said Laux, who lives in Los Angeles and captured the blaze on video.

The show was stopped almost immediately “and then right after that, the dragon started catching fire and the whole body was up in flames,” he told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The show takes place nightly near the park’s famous Tom Sawyer Island. The climax features Mickey Mouse battling a giant dragon named Maleficent.

Laux said Mickey vanished from the stage as soon as the dragon’s head became engulfed in flames.

The extent of the damage wasn’t immediately known.

23 Apr 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Nabs Seventh Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time spends a seventh consecutive and total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 29). The set earned 166,000 equivalent album units in the week ending April 20 (down 1%) in the United States, according to Luminate.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

In the last 10 years, only two acts – Wallen and Taylor Swift – have had multiple albums with at least seven weeks at No. 1 each. Wallen has done so with One Thing at a Time and his previous release, Dangerous: The Double Album, which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 in 2021. Swift did it with Folklore (eight weeks in 2020) and 1989 (11 weeks in 2014-15).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Metallica blasts in at No. 2 with its new studio album, 72 Seasons. The set debuts with 146,000 units earned – achieving the largest week, by units, for any rock or hard rock album in over three-and-a-half years. It also marks the band’s 12th top 10 charting album – of which eight have reached the top two. 72 Seasons marks the band’s first original album in seven years.

Plus, Taylor Swift’s 2019 album Lover ranks in the Billboard 200’s top 10 for the first time in over three years, climbing 12-9.

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

Of One Thing at a Time’s 166,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending April 20, SEA units comprise 151,000 (down 5%, equaling 201.71 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 12,000 (up 102% following the release of a new vinyl edition of the set) and TEA units comprise 3,000 (up 7%).

Metallica’s new studio album 72 Seasons starts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, scoring the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band its 12th top 10-charting effort. The set opens with 146,000 equivalent album units earned – the biggest week for any rock or hard rock album since Tool’s Fear Inoculum arrived with 270,000 equivalent album units at No. 1 (Sept. 14, 2019-dated chart). (Rock and hard rock albums are defined as those that have hit or are eligible to chart on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums chart.)

Of 72 Seasons’ 146,000 units earned, album sales comprise 134,000 — it’s the top-selling album of the week, and it bows with the biggest sales week for any rock or hard rock album since Fear Inoculum’s debut with 248,000 sold, SEA units comprise 11,500 (equaling 15.91 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 songs) and TEA units comprise 500.

72 Seasons was led by the single “Lux Æterna,” which racked up 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart – tying the band’s cover of “Turn the Page” (1998-99) for its longest ruler atop the list. The album’s title track rose 8-6 on the most recently published Mainstream Rock Airplay chart (dated April 29), and marks the group’s 26th top 10-charting song on the tally.

SZA’s chart-topping SOS rises 4-3 on the Billboard 200 with 66,000 equivalent album units (up 9%), Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights falls 3-4 (60,000; up 1%) and Wallen’s former leader Dangerous: The Double Album rises 6-5 (49,000; up 3%). Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old bumps 7-6 (43,000; down 7%), Metro Boomin’ chart-topping Heroes & Villains goes up 9-7 (37,000; up 1%) and Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti steps 10-8 (36,000; up 5%).

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Lover rises 12-9 (34,000; up 4%) – marking the first week in the top 10 for the set, which debuted at No. 1 in September 2019, in over three years – since the chart dated Feb. 22, 2020. The album has been bumping around the top 20 of the Billboard 200 in the last month, since Swift’s The Eras Tour launched on March 17. It’s moved 35-13-16-15-12-9 in the last six weeks.

Melanie Martinez’s Portals rounds out the top 10 of the Billboard 200, falling 5-10 with 33,000 (down 31%).

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.

22 Apr 2023

Morgan Wallen Makes History as First Artist With Three Songs in Country Airplay Top 10

Morgan Wallen places three titles inside the top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated April 29) – becoming the first artist to achieve the feat since the survey began in January 1990.

The 29-year-old Sneedville, Tenn., native earns his 10th Country Airplay top 10 as “Last Night,” on Mercury/Republic/Big Loud Records, jumps from No. 13 to No. 8. It rose by 21% to 19.4 million audience impressions in the week ending April 20, according to Luminate.

The song leapfrogs Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time,” up 10-9 for a new high (17.9 million, up 3%), while “Thought You Should Know” dips 5-7 (21.7 million, down 5%). The latter gave Wallen his eighth Country Airplay leader when it began a three-week reign in February.

Concurrently, “Last Night,” which is being promoted to pop and adult radio, climbs to No. 16 on Pop Airplay, No. 19 on Adult Pop Airplay and No. 26 on Adult Contemporary. It claimed a third week atop the all-genre, streaming, airplay and sales-based Billboard Hot 100 dated April 22.

All three Wallen hits are on his 36-track LP One Thing at a Time, which has led Top Country Albums and the all-genre Billboard 200 for its first six weeks.

Wallen’s triple in the Country Airplay top 10 follows pop radio’s increasing willingness to play multiple hits by a single artist simultaneously. In May 2021, Ariana Grande became the first act to log three top 10s at once on Pop Airplay; Doja Cat and Harry Styles have since earned the honor, while Miley Cyrus currently has three songs on the latest list from her new album, Endless Summer Vacation: “Jaded” debuts at No. 39, as “Flowers” tallies a ninth week at No. 1 and “River” ranks at No. 25.

“I’m excited to see radio continuing to invest in [country’s] core artists,” Big Loud vp of promotion Ali Matkosky recently told Billboard. “In a time where listeners are pointing out daily what they want to hear [via streaming services], it makes more and more sense to lean into that data.”

‘Rock’ on a Roll

Bailey Zimmerman notches a fifth week atop Country Airplay, as “Rock and a Hard Place” holds at the apex (32 million, down 6%). The song first led the list dated April 1, giving Zimmerman his second straight career-opening chart-topper, following “Fall in Love,” which ruled for one week in December.

Meanwhile, Zimmerman’s latest single, “Religiously,” pushes 56-50 (1.3 million, up 33%).

Additional research by Gary Trust

22 Apr 2023

Sam Hunt & Wife Hannah Lee Fowler Expecting Second Baby

Sam Hunt and wife Hannah Lee Fowler are expecting their second child, a representative for Hunt confirms to Billboard.

The news was first reported earlier on Saturday (April 22) via ET, who said a concertgoer at Hunt’s Friday night Las Vegas show at Resorts World Theatre heard the country singer make the announcement on stage.

Baby No. 2 will join sibling Lucy, who was born in May 2022. Hunt announced the birth of their first baby during an appearance at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on June 7, when he said the little one had arrived “a couple of weeks ago.”

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Hunt and Fowler married in April 2017. The pair weathered tumultuous times, and Fowler had filed for divorce from Hunt in February 2022, reportedly citing “inappropriate marital conduct.” She withdrew the filing hours later and soon filed again in a different county, then called off the divorce.

In March, Hunt announced his headlining Summer on the Outskirts Tour, a 27-date, Live Nation-produced trek that launches in July. The tour’s name comes from Hunt’s promotional single “Outskirts.”

22 Apr 2023

Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge Marry in South of France

Congratulations are in order for Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge, who married over the weekend in the South of France.

The 24-year-old model and designer, who is the daughter of legendary singer Lionel Richie, exchanged vows with Grainge, 29, the son of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, during a ceremony in Antibes, France, according to People.

Richie took to her Instagram Story on Saturday to share several photos of a colorful breakfast for the bride ahead of the nuptials. Her posts also included beautiful photos of the French Riviera coastline. The wedding took place at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, Vogue reports.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Ahead of her wedding, Richie shared on social media that she had converted to Judaism.

“What a magical day. I want to thank cantor Nathan Lam for helping me along this journey of converting to Judaism,” Richie posted on her Instagram story, according to People. “It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Today was that day!!!”

Richie and Grainge announced their engagement in April 2022. A photo of the stunning proposal showed the music exec on one knee at sunset, with the couple surrounded by dozens of romantic candles.

“Forever isn’t long enough,” Richie wrote on Instagram. Grainge mirrored the excitement over on his Instagram page, sharing a photo of the two kissing, with the classic caption, “She said yes.” Richie sweetly responded in the comments, “I love you.”

The pair, who made their relationship Instagram official in April 2021, have kept their love relatively private. Elliot is the founder and CEO of independent record label 10K Projects.

At the time of their engagement, Sofia’s sister, Nicole, shared the happy news about in her Instagram Story with the hilarious caption, “Can’t wait to find ways to make this about me.”