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06 Mar 2023

Did Nick Cannon Just Tease Yet Another Baby Announcement?

Lucky number 13? Nick Cannon took to Twitter on Monday (March 6) to tease what seems like another baby announcement.

“EXPECT some big news tomorrow,” he wrote along with eyes and a baby bottle emoji.

If he is indeed announcing another bundle of joy on the way, the child will be Cannon’s 13th kid. He shares twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex-wife Mariah Carey, and twins Zion and Zillion with Abby De La Rosa, who gave birth to her third baby with Cannon, Beautiful Zeppelin, less than two months prior to his youngest child, daughter Halo’s birth. He shares the 3-month-old with model Alyssa Scott.

He is also dad to Golden Sagon, Powerful Queen and Rise Messiah, whom he shares with Brittany Bell; Legendary Love, whose mom is Bre Tiesi; and Onyx Ice Cole with LaNisha Cole.

Cannon’s headline-making fertility is so unorthodox it’s become a bit of a joke for his friends. Shortly after the Drumline star welcomed four children in the span of about six months starting in December 2020, Kevin Hart posted a massive billboard in Los Angeles revealing Cannon’s actual phone number.

“For any advice on fatherhood ? Call my best friend Nick Cannon,” the billboard read.

“It’s not about what society deems is right,” Cannon told Men’s Health in 2022 about having kids with multiple women. “It’s like, what makes it right for you? What brings your happiness? What allows you to have joy and how you define family? We all define family in so many different ways.”

“People even often ask, ‘Are you gonna have more? You gonna stop?’” he continued. “I’m like, those are questions that I don’t really even sit around and think about. I’m just walking in my purpose and trying to be the best father and best provider I could possibly be.”

06 Mar 2023

Activists Begin “Week of Action” Protesting Georgia’s “Cop City”

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US-POLICE-JUSTICE-DEMO

Source: CHENEY ORR / Getty

Activists and other social justice groups have begun a planned “week of action” to protest the construction of a project known as “Cop City” outside of Atlanta, Georgia.According to reports, multiple activists and environmental and social justice groups from across the United States have initiated a week of protest actions against the building of a training center complex for law enforcement in a forest area south-east of Atlanta which has been dubbed “Cop City”. 

The planned actions come a little less than two months after the death of Manuel Paez Terán, an activist known as “Tortuguita”. Terán was shot and killed by a Georgia State Trooper on January 18th in the midst of a violent raid by a combined force of state troopers, officers from Dekalb County & Atlanta, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on a protest encampment in the South Forest area.

Protesters are seeking to block the construction of the militarization and training complex which was launched by the Atlanta Police Foundation. With an estimated price tag of $85 to $90 million, the site would be the largest of its kind in the nation once completed. Many have complained about the environmental impact, as the entire forest is slated to be razed for the project. The planned week of action will include a march among other protests. “The idea is to have a march with Black-led groups, centered in Atlanta history, and the protest movements we’ve always been a part of,” said Community Movement Builders leader Kamal Franklin. A “National Day of Action Against Police Terror” is slated for this coming Thursday (March 9th), with a music festival and a “know your rights workshop” also included in the actions.

These initiatives by protesters are meant to quash the narrative promoted by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens that the protests have been dominated by outside agitators bent on violence. On Sunday (March 5th), 35 people were detained by police at the site after a construction vehicle was set ablaze and rocks were being hurled at officers as a protest was taking place. Franklin said to CNN afterward that the arrests were “indiscriminate”, and didn’t represent the majority of those protesting who are from the Atlanta area. “These are big-tent protests. We don’t expect incidents beyond standard civil disobedience. We hope the police will act accordingly and not in violent ways that exacerbate the situation,” he stated.

06 Mar 2023

Rihanna & Jay-Z Send Senior Living Facility Roses After Viral Halftime Show TikTok

After a group of grandmothers at Arcadia Senior Living Bowling Green went viral on TikTok thanks to their adorable recreation of Rihanna‘s recent Super Bowl halftime show performance, Jay-Z, Roc Nation and RiRi herself have taken notice.

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The living facility revealed on Facebook that the “Love on the Brain” singer sent the group a gorgeous bouquet of white roses. “You ladies’ dance was amazing,” the note signed by RiRi and Roc Nation reads. Billboard can confirm that the star and her team sent over the sweet token of appreciation. See it here.

The gesture comes just a week after Jay-Z sent the living facility a huge display of red roses. “We love the TikTok here at Roc Nation,” the agency’s founder wrote in the note. See Jay-Z’s gift here.

The group of grandmothers at Arcadia Senior Living Bowling Green shared their viral video last week, in which they’re seen taking on the remix of Rihanna’s 2009 hit “Rude Boy” from the Super Bowl performance. In the clip, a number of elderly women are lined up and dressed in white — exactly like RiRi’s dancers. They move out of the way one by one to reveal one last senior citizen, dressed in red like the singer was at the Super Bowl. The grandma then sings her heart out to “Rude Boy” while dancing and holding a microphone.

At the time of publication, the post has more than 30 million views and 3.5 million likes.

06 Mar 2023

GloRilla Concert Chaos Leaves 1 Dead, 9 Injured

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GloRilla Performs at The Howard Theatre in Washington, DC.

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

On Sunday night (March 5), a GloRilla concert in Rochester ended in a stampede that left nine people injured and one person dead.

Reportedly, the show was over and fans were leaving when a surge in the crowd caused a stampede. There are unconfirmed reports that gunfire is what caused a rush for the exit.

Reports CBS News:

Fans were leaving the concert of rapper GloRilla at the Main Street Armory as it ended just after 11 p.m. when they thought they heard gunfire inside the venue, causing the crowd to surge and rush toward the exit, the Rochester Police Department said in a news release.

“We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or anyone being shot or stabbed,” the statement said.

Officers outside of the venue made their way inside where they found three women “with significant injuries.”

Unfortunately, it was a 33-year-old woman who did not survive her injuries. Two other people are still reportedly in critical condition.

“As the night went on, an additional seven people arrived at local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries from the event,” said Rochester PD in a statement. “Preliminary reports from people at the scene indicate that these injuries were caused from being trampled.”

GloRilla took to Twitter to express concern and offer up her prayers after hearing news of the incident. “Praying everybody is ok,” she tweeted early Monday morning.

Hip-Hop Wired offers its condolences to the family of the deceased and healthy recoveries to those injured.

06 Mar 2023

Halle Bailey Celebrates Getting Her Own ‘Little Mermaid’ Doll: ‘BRB Gonna Go Cry Now’

A part of her world! Halle Bailey excitedly unveiled the new doll version of her Little Mermaid character on Monday (March 6) via social media.

“I have something really exciting to reveal to you all. I am gonna cry,” the younger half of Chloe x Halle said in an Instagram video. “This is the new Little Mermaid doll! I am literally choking up because this means so much to me. And to have one that looks like me, that’s my favorite Disney character, is very surreal. And look, she even has my mole! See? And the hair, and the tail…I’m just stunned, so I don’t quite know what to do with it, but I’m gonna steal this and take it home.”

Indeed, the new version of Ariel is modeling exactly after Bailey’s character in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated classic, and the actress added even more context about how meaningful the toy was to her in her caption.

“Omg…the little girl in me is pinching herself right now ..I have my own Little Mermaid Ariel doll !!!” she wrote. “I can’t believe how much she captures my version of this iconic character…brb gonna go cry now.”

Late last year, Bailey opened up in an interview with E! News about letting go of the “pressure” she initially felt to step into Ariel’s fins. “I think that before I started filming, I did feel some nerves naturally because the film is so important to so many people,” she said, going on to add, “The fact that all these little Black and Brown babies are going to be able to feel like they’re being represented is really special to me. I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed a whole lot for me and my perspective on who I am as an individual.”

The Little Mermaid is set to hit theaters nationwide on May 23, and the latest teaser gave fans a brief glimpse of Melissa McCarthy’s villainous Ursula, as well as Flounder and Prince Eric.

Watch Halle’s adorable reaction to seeing her Ariel doll for the first time below.

06 Mar 2023

Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey & Shania Twain’s Music to Be Featured in Apple Fitness+ Workouts

You can take yourself dancing and even cycling to Miley Cyrus‘ music, thanks to Apple Fitness+ newly added workouts. In honor of Women’s History Month, Cyrus, Mariah Carey and Shania Twain will be highlighted as part of the program’s Artist Spotlight series, which dedicates an entire set of workouts to a single artist and their discography.

Starting Monday (March 6), Fitness+ users can pedal to the beat of the “Flowers” singer’s music in a cycling workout, return to heart center when it’s a wrap on the Carey-inspired yoga workout and feel like a powerful woman post-strength workout featuring Twain’s tunes.

Fitness+ Artist Spotlight

Fitness+ Artist Spotlight

Courtesy of Apple

New workouts will roll out every Monday throughout the month of March. Ahead of the release of her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, due March 10 via Columbia Records, Cyrus will have her fans sweating and singing along to her biggest hits while getting that summer body through dance, HIIT, strength and cycling workouts.

Meanwhile, the Lambily will need to stretch as far and wide as Mimi’s vocal range — which spans across five octaves and goes all the way up to those whistle tones we all try reaching when belting out her 1991 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Emotions” — ahead of her cycling, dance, HIIT and yoga workouts.

And the Queen of Country Pop’s cycling, yoga, strength and treadmill workouts will prove her fans ain’t no quitters and will leave them impressed with their results. “You’ve got to make working out fun, do what you love, so it feels like burning energy instead of a job! I hear lots of people like listening to my music in the gym and it makes me so happy – it means it’s energetic and inspirational,” Twain said in a press statement. “That’s why I’m so excited for this Artist Spotlight series on Fitness+. So Giddy Up! And do what makes you happy!”

Other musicians who’ve had sets of Apple Fitness+ workouts dedicated to them include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, ABBA, Prince, Shakira, The Beatles, Nicki Minaj and many more.

According to the Apple Fitness+ website, anyone who purchases a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or Apple TV (and hasn’t previously subscribed to Apple Fitness+) will have free access to Apple Fitness+ for three months before paying $9.99 monthly, or $79.99 annually. New subscribers who already have the aforementioned Apple products can get free access to Apple Fitness+ for one month. Apple Fitness+ can be shared with up to five family members.

06 Mar 2023

Karol G & Shakira’s ‘TQG’ Blasts In at No. 1 on Both Billboard Global Charts

Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” launches as the biggest song in the world, debuting at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 11).

The song is each Colombian superstar’s first No. 1 on the rankings.

Plus, The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” bounds 19-2 on the Global 200 and 28-3 on Global Excl. U.S., after Grande joined for its remix; Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” lifts 12-10 on the Global 200; and Yandel and Feid’s “Yandel 150” rises 11-10 on Global Excl. U.S.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. surveys, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Karol G & Shakira Reign, Wallen Reaches Top 10

Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, with 158.4 million streams and 10,000 sold worldwide in the Feb. 24-March 2 tracking week. The collaboration is from Karol G’s new album Mañana Será Bonito, which debuts at No. 1 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200, becoming the first all-Spanish-language leader by a woman in the chart’s history.

Notably, the song starts with the ninth-best streaming week since the Global 200 began (with seven of the top 10 such frames by female acts).

Biggest Worldwide Streaming Weeks in Global 200 History:
289.2 million, “Butter,” BTS, June 5, 2021
217.1 million, “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, Feb. 4, 2023
212.1 million, “Pink Venom,” BLACKPINK, Sept. 3, 2022
185.6 million, “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, Feb. 11, 2023
179.1 million, “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, Jan. 28, 2023
178.2 million, “Easy on Me,” Adele, Oct. 30, 2021
170.8 million, “Permission To Dance,” BTS, July 24, 2021
169.8 million, “Butter,” BTS, June 12, 2021
158.4 million, “TQG,” Karol G & Shakira, March 11, 2023
152.8 million, “Shut Down,” BLACKPINK, Oct. 1, 2022

Karol G claims her first Global 200 No. 1 among four top 10s, following “Provenza” (No. 6, May 2022); “MAMIII,” with Becky G (No. 4, March 2022); and “Bichota” (No. 7, January 2021).

Shakira also scores her first Global 200 leader since the list began, after her and Bizarrap’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” debuted at its No. 2 peak (where it ranked for three weeks) in January, marking her first top 10; it slips 5-7 on the latest list.

Karol G and Shakira are the third and fourth artists from Colombia to top the Global 200; Carolina Gaitán and Mauro Castillo are among the seven credited acts on Disney’s Encanto smash “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which led for three weeks beginning in February 2022.

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” roars 19-2 on the Global 200, up 250% to 109.1 million streams and 984% to 15,000 sold worldwide, after Grande was added on its remix, released Feb. 24. The song was originally released by The Weeknd solo in 2016 on his album Starboy and has resurged sparked by interaction on TikTok (which does not presently contribute directly to Billboard’s charts). That buzz helped lead to the song’s current label promotion.

The Weeknd adds his ninth Global 200 top 10 and Grande achieves her fifth. They led together for a week in May 2021 with “Save Your Tears,” also after Grande joined for a remixed version.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” drops to No. 3 on the Global 200 after spending its first six weeks on the chart at No. 1. Still, it logs its seventh consecutive week of over 100 million global streams (101.5 million, down 8%) – extending its unprecedented run for the most frames above that threshold from a song’s debut chart week. Overall, the track boasts the best such streak since The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” linked nine weeks over 100 million globally in 2021.

SZA’s “Kill Bill” retreats 2-4 on the Global 200, after two weeks on top in January, and PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” falls to No. 5 from its No. 3 high.

Elsewhere in the Global 200’s top 10, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” pushes 12-10, with 33 million streams (up 7%) and 18,000 sold (up 51%) worldwide. The song is the country star’s first top 10 among 32 chart entries. It’s from his album One Thing at a Time, released Friday (March 3).

‘TQG’ on Top, ‘Yandel 150’ = 10

As on the Global 200, Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 129.7 million streams and 3,000 sold outside the U.S. Feb. 24-March 2. It’s likewise each act’s first Global Excl. U.S. leader, among five and three top 10s, respectively.

Karol G and Shakira are the second and third acts from Colombia to command Global Excl. U.S.; Maluma led, with The Weeknd, on “Hawái,” the week that the chart began in 2020.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” descends to No. 2 on Global Excl. U.S. after reigning in its first six weeks on the chart; The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” charges 28-3, up 286% to 77.7 million streams and 2,086% to 5,000 sold, becoming the acts’ seventh and fifth top 10s, respectively; Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” recedes to No. 4 after six weeks at its No. 2 high; and SZA’s “Kill Bill” falls 3-5, after reaching No. 2.

Also in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, Yandel and Feid’s “Yandel 150” climbs 11-10, powered by 36.8 million streams (up 8%) beyond the U.S. Yandel, from Puerto Rico, and Feid, from Colombia, each earn their first top 10 placement on the survey.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 11, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 7). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

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.

06 Mar 2023

Kakao Cancels SM Entertainment Investment After Court Order

HYBE’s plan to control competing K-pop company SM Entertainment and thwart a partnership with tech company Kakao took another step forward on Monday when Kakao, responding to a court injunction, announced it had canceled its stock purchase agreement to acquire a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment.

Last week, the Seoul Eastern District Court granted a provisionary injunction against SM’s plan to issue new shares and convertible bonds. The judge ruled that SM had made its decision without shareholders’ consent. It was a remarkable win for SM’s controversial founder, Lee Soo-man, and for HYBE, the reigning K-pop company and home to boyband BTS. 

For weeks, SM’s management has been trying to wrest control of the company from Lee, who has been found guilty of embezzlement and exercised iron-fisted control over the company he founded in 1995. After SM made a deal with Kakao, Lee turned to HYBE, which became SM’s largest shareholder on Feb. 22 after it acquired a 14.8% stake from Lee, whose production contract with SM was canceled as of Dec. 31. 

On Monday, HYBE sent a letter to SM demanding that “the current [SM] Board of Directors should fulfill its duty of care and duty of loyalty towards SM and actively exercise the right to terminate the business cooperation agreement, which contains clauses that are disadvantageous to SM and advantageous to Kakao,” according to a statement that described the letter.  

With the injunction in place, HYBE also called for SM to exercise its right to withdraw the recommendation of the director candidate nominated by Kakao. SM had put forward Jang Yoon-Joong, Kakao’s global strategy officer, as a part-time director.

SM and HYBE are pushing competing visions for SM’s future before shareholders vote on a new board of directors at SM’s annual general meeting on March 31. SM wants to partner with Kakao – owner of the Melon music streaming service and KakaoTalk messaging service – to better monetize its intellectual property and launch a joint venture in the U.S.

Called “SM 3.0,” the road map calls for SM to break from the single-producer system maintained by Lee until his removal. Instead, SM wants to develop artists through multiple labels and production centers in Korea, Japan, Southeast and the U.S. 

HYBE calls an SM-Kakao tie-up an “unfair partnership” that would give Kakao permanent and exclusive rights to distribute SM’s music, protect SM’s equity at the expense of other shareholders and create conflict of interests that favor Kakao. “We believe that these details demonstrate the bias and irrationality of the current SM management who approved such arrangements,” Jung Jinsoo, HYBE’s chief legal officer, wrote in a letter to SM shareholders on Thursday (March 2).

06 Mar 2023

Harry Styles Makes Cameo in Jenny Lewis’ New Music Video Dressed as a Puppy: Watch

Harry Styles has puppy love. Dressed head-to-toe in a cartoonish dog costume, the 29-year-old pop star made a cameo in tourmate Jenny Lewis‘ new music video Monday (March 6) for her track “Puppy and a Truck” — and yes, it’s as adorable as it sounds.

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Styles’ face doesn’t appear until the very end of Lewis’ new visual, which stitches footage of her hanging out on the beach, playing with her cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel + poodle) and performing onstage as the “As It Was” singer’s opening act on his Love On Tour. Throughout much of the video, a figure dressed as a puppy with its tongue permanently stuck out is present in the background.

Then, in the last few seconds of the video, the costume-wearer removes his headpiece to reveal his true identity: Chart-topping English pop sensation Harry Styles. The musician goes on to flash a big smile at the camera and holds up two peace signs.

Lewis spent months on the road with Styles in 2021, opening for the “Watermelon Sugar” artist on a slew of his Love On Tour dates in North America. This summer, she’ll hit the road again as a headliner and as support for artists like Ruston Kelly and Beck. See a full list of dates here.

“To be on a giant stage in front of thousands of people after such a long period of isolation, those 45 minutes meeting Harry’s fans brought me back to life,” Lewis said of her time performing with Styles in a statement. “I was just trying to stay present and in the moment, and grateful to be able to share my life experiences and my songs, with such a loving audience.”

See Harry Styles crash Jenny Lewis’ “Puppy and a Truck” in the music video above.

06 Mar 2023

Former Wiggle Sam Moran Signs With Republic Records: Kids & Family

Republic Records: Kids & Family announced on Monday the signing of ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, singer, songwriter, actor and performer Sam Moran. His first single is to be released later this month.

“There is no other team that I would rather be working with than Republic Kids. The energy and creativity they are bringing to my debut project is exactly what I was looking for when venturing out on my own,” says Moran. “We have so many surprises in store that I know my fans are going to love so, get ready!”

Moran is an Australian-born performer best known for his work on the Wiggles television show, both as recurring characters and as Yellow Wiggle from 2006 to 2012.

“When launching Republic Kids I knew I had to sign Sam as an artist,” says Bree Bowles, vp of marketing and strategy. “He is the perfect complement to our mission of producing world-class music that can be enjoyed by both kids and their parents. Sam’s musical talents are beloved by so many and these new efforts will help to redefine the future of ‘kids’ music.”

Jonathan Shank from Terrapin Station Entertainment will manage Moran, telling Billboard: “We are so excited to be working alongside Sam and Republic for this release and know it’s the start of magical things to come.”

Moran said some of his material is meant to inspire kids who had a hard time emerging from the pandemic and that “there’s no better way to help them rediscover themselves than through music. I want to give them a voice that reflects how they see the world — with, of course, a bunch of fun along the way!”