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08 Feb 2023

‘Party’ Time: Bad Bunny & Rauw Alejandro Hit No. 1 on Latin Airplay Chart

Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro’s “Party” team-up conquers Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as the track rises 4-1 on the Feb. 11-dated ranking. It’s the fourth single from Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti to lead the all-genre tally.

“Party” dances its way to No. 1 with a 9% gain in audience impressions, to 10.2 million, earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 2, according to Luminate. It sends Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” to No. 3 after its one-week command, with a 6% dip in audience (9.5 million during the tracking week).

With the new champ, Bad Bunny improves his career total to 20 No. 1s on Latin Airplay, the eighth-most since the chart launched in 1994. Meanwhile, Rauw collects his 10th champ.

As “Party” hits No. 1 on the all-genre tally, Bad Bunny claims a fourth leader from his No. 1 album Un Verano Sin Ti, starting with “Moscow Mule” (July 2022), “Me Porto Bonito,” with Chencho Corleone (August 2022), and “Titi Me Preguntó” (September 2022).

Notably Bad Bunny is among 10 artists to claim at least four No. 1s on Latin Airplay from the same studio album since the list’s inception. Further, he is just the third act to achieve the feat with at least two albums or more. He joins Romeo Santos (five No. 1s from Formula, Vol. 1 and Formula, Vol. 2; four champs from Golden) and Enrique Iglesias (five No. 1s from Enrique Iglesias; four leaders from Final, Vol. 4) Here’s the leaderboard:

Years, Artist, Album Title, Number of Latin Airplay No. 1s

  • 1995-1996, Enrique Iglesias, Enrique Iglesias, five
  • 1997-1998, Alejandro Fernández, Me Estoy Enamorando, four
  • 2011-2013, Romeo Santos, Formula, Vol. 1, five
  • 2013-2015, Romeo Santos, Formula, Vol. 2, five
  • 2016-2021, Enrique Iglesias, Final, Vol. 1, four
  • 2017-2018, Romeo Santos, Golden, four
  • 2017-2019, Luis Fonsi, Vida, four
  • 2019-2020, Bad Bunny, YHLQMDLG, four
  • 2019-2020, Ozuna, Nibiru, four
  • 2019-2022, Sebastián Yatra, Dharma, five
  • 2020-2021, Black Eyed Peas, Translation, four
  • 2020-2021, Karol G, KG0516, five
  • 2020-2022, J Balvin, Jose, four
  • 2022-2023, Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti, four

Elsewhere, “Party” holds at No. 1 for a second week on Latin Rhythm Airplay.

08 Feb 2023

Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation Helping Hands Concert & Auction Raises Millions For Charities

Metallica‘s Dec. 16 Helping Hands concert raised millions for the group’s All Within My Hands Foundation. In a release on Wednesday (Feb. 8), the band announced that the gig at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles raised around $3 million, all of which will go to the foundation’s efforts to support workforce education, fight hunger and provide disaster relief and other critical local services.

“The funds raised from the Helping Hands Concert & Auction will have a lasting impact on All Within My Hands’ ability to grow our Metallica Scholars Initiative, combat hunger, and aid in response to natural disasters,” said the organization’s executive director, Peter Delgrosso, in a statement. “The Los Angeles event was the largest fundraiser in our history, and we profoundly appreciate the generosity of everyone involved. We could not have achieved these results otherwise.”

The gig hosted by late night’s Jimmy Kimmel was streamed live on Paramount+ and also featured sets from Greta Van Fleet, a surprise appearance by St. Vincent and Robert Downey Jr. introducing the headliners. The Helping Hands Concert and a parallel auction honored a number of local organizations, including:  Baby2Baby, First Star, Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, mikeroweWorks Foundation, and The Skatepark Project.

The band also announced that the first donations from their 2021 The Metallica Blacklist compilation — which featured covers of the group’s songs by Mac DeMarco, Juanes, Rina Sawayama, Weezer, White Reaper, Royal Blood, Cage the Elephant, J Balvin, Phoebe Bridgers, Miley Cyrus, Elton John and more — has generated more than $1 million in donations to date.

According to the release, all the profits from the Blacklist project will be divided evenly between All Within My Hands and charities chosen by the participating artists — including Happy Hippie Foundation (Cyrus), Outlaw State of Kind (Chris Stapleton), RAINN (Bridgers), Dhamma Mahavana (Weezer), Borne Cancer Fonden Denmark (Volbeat), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Balvin), The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation For Autism (Jon Pardi), The Special Olympics (Cage The Elephant), Save The Children (Alessia Cara + The Warning, Ha*Ash), Camp Aranutiq (Ghost), and more.

08 Feb 2023

Lea Michele Had ‘Healing, Eye-Opening’ Conversations With ‘Glee’ Costars After Bullying Claims

Lea Michele has had something of a personal renaissance in the past year, stepping back into positive public opinion via her critically acclaimed portrayal of Fanny Brice in Broadway’s ongoing revival of Funny Girl. And in a new interview published Tuesday (Feb. 7), the 36-year-old actress opened up about how the gig has given her a chance to introduce the world to the new her, revealing that she had personal conversations with her Glee costars in the aftermath of explosive allegations of on set bullying and racism made against her in 2020.

“I think these past two years have been so important for everybody to just sit back and reflect,” she told playwright Jeremy O. Harris for Interview Magazine. “I did a lot of personal reach-outs. But the most important thing was for everybody to just take a step back.”

“More than anything, I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to apply the things that I’ve learned over the past 10-plus years in a positive way,” she continued. “What I told myself stepping into Funny Girl was, ‘If I can’t take my role as a leader offstage as important as my role as a leader onstage, then I shouldn’t do this show.’”

The Scream Queens alum described feeling like her “life got turned upside down in so many ways” during the 2020 controversy, which saw several members of the Glee cast coming forward with claims of inappropriate, abusive behavior from the show’s leading lady. Season six actress Samantha Ware characterized Michele’s treatment of her as a series of “traumatic microaggressions.”

Michele later posted a public apology, saying that, while she didn’t remember the incidents described by Ware, “what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.”

“At the end of the day, what matters the most is how you make people feel,” the Scream Queens alum reflected in the new interview. “And you have to put aside your feelings. The conversations that I’ve had behind the scenes with some people were incredibly healing and very eye-opening for me … When I got the call that I was going to play Fanny Brice, I said, ‘OK, this could be really big for my career, but it’s also helpful to have this opportunity to introduce people to who I am now.’”

“I think about what the Glee days were like, just working so hard and having such pressure on my shoulders to keep that show afloat, and navigating through that whole experience at such a young age while also dealing with a really intense life trauma that happened at the same time,” she added, likely referencing the shocking death of her costar and boyfriend Cory Monteith. “This is such a different experience. I’m finding so much joy in the connections I’m having with the people around me. ”

08 Feb 2023

Jennifer Hudson, Måneskin & More: Stars at Clive Davis’ 2023 Pre-Grammy Gala

Back row, from left: Juanes, Elvis Costello, Myles Frost, Frankie Valli, Kevin Costner, Jennifer Hudson, Harvey Mason Jr., Rickey Minor, Lauren Daigle, Victoria De Angelis of Maneskin, Thomas Raggi of Måneskin, Ethan Torchio of Måneskin, Latto. Front row, from left: Sheryl Crow, Clive Davis, Damiano David of Måneskin photographed at the annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala on February 4, 2023 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Austin Hargrave

08 Feb 2023

Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera to Receive Recognition for Their Allyship at 2023 GLAAD Media Awards

Along with celebrating the queer community at large, the GLAAD Media Awards make sure to give vocal allies their flowers for supporting the LGBTQ community — and this year, the organization is recognizing two massive stars for their unyielding efforts.

On Wednesday (Feb. 8), GLAAD announced that recording artists Bad Bunny and Christina Aguilera would be the recipients of two allyship awards at its annual ceremony in Los Angeles taking place March 30. The organization also announced that out actor Jeremy Pope would receive the Stephen F. Kolzak award for his work in raising visibility for LGBTQ media professionals.

Bad Bunny is set to receive the annual vanguard award, which is presented to “allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Past honorees include mega-stars such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Cher. Speaking on Bunny’s inclusion, GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that the star’s consistent advocacy — whether through live performances, music videos or elsewhere — “redefines the positive influence Latin music artists can have within the LGBTQ community, and has set an example for all artists.”

Aguilera will receive the advocate for change award, given to “a person who, through their work, has changed the game for LGBTQ people around the world.” The only two past recipients of the award are President Bill Clinton and pop superstar Madonna. Ellis said that through the dedication of her hit song “Beautiful” to the queer community, her work in raising money for HIV research and her staunch opposition to anti-queer policies in the U.S., Aguilera “loudly and proudly raises the bar for what it means to be a LGBTQ ally today.”

GLAAD previously announced their official nominees for the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards, including LGBTQ artists such as Demi Lovato, Kim Petras, Anitta, Fletcher and many more for their work in creating queer art in 2022.

08 Feb 2023

Def Jam Signs Virtual Band The Whales in Latest Major-Label Web3 Partnership

Universal Music Group’s Def Jam Recordings is the latest major label imprint to venture into Web3 through the launch of a virtual band, The Whales. Comprised of cartoon NFT whale characters, the group’s debut full-length album has an all-star cast of producers and songwriters attached.

The deal is a partnership with The Catalina Whale Mixer, a collection of 5,555 NFT avatars on the Solana blockchain. Created by tech studio WAGMI Beach in December 2021, the concept of The Whales was born when co-founders Ben Willis and Joshua Andriano met with Def Jam’s DJ Mormile and Ryan Rodriguez. “We pitched the idea of a community-grown avatar group to DJ and [they] just got it,” says Willis. “To be working with Def Jam on releasing this one-of-a-kind new music project is a dream come true.”

Def Jam has not yet confirmed the musicians behind the project but says it will involve a “who’s who” of musical talent. The Whales’ first project will be released as a full-length album, while the group will tap into the broader Catalina Whales Mixer community to deepen the relationship between music and Web3 culture.

The virtual artist NFT playbook is becoming a trend among bigger record labels. The same concept was executed by 10:22PM — another Universal Music Group imprint — which licensed characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club to create the animated band KINGSHIP. Warner Records’ Web3 subsidiary Probably a Label is also developing a virtual artist in collaboration with its 5,555 NFT holders through a voting system.

The team at WAGMI Beach — whose founders are music industry veterans themselves, previously at management company Indie Pop — believes this model will improve the way artists and labels engage directly with fans by letting them be part of the process. “At the core of all the NFT and Web3 attention is a fundamental technology change that will alter how music and art is consumed by generations to come,” said co-founder Alec Lykken. “This is our initial dive into what we believe to be an incredible new wave for artists and fans alike.”

08 Feb 2023

Duran Duran Plot 2023 North American Arena Tour With Bastille, Nile Rodgers & Chic: See Dates

Duran Duran announced the dates for their upcoming 2023 North American Future Past arena tour on Wednesday (Feb. 8), a 26-date outing that is slated to kick off on May 28 in San Jose, California and keep the new wave legends on the road through a Sept. 19 gig in Toronto.

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They will be joined on all the dates by rockers Bastille as well as R&B icons Nile Rodgers & Chic. Presale tickets for the Live Nation-promoted tour will roll out on Monday (Feb. 13) beginning at 10 a.m. local time, with the band’s VIP members getting a first shot at seats; VIPs and prospective VIPs can click here for more information. Citi members will have access to a presale beginning on Monday as well, beginning at 2 p.m. local time until Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. local time. Additional presales will be added on Feb. 14 and end on Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. local time. General public tickets will go on sale on Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. local time.

“It’s remarkable to me that as a band, we are still hitting new milestones, and introducing the sound of DD to new generations of music lovers,” said singer Simon LeBon in a statement. “We are truly grateful that we get to do what we do on a daily basis, and that we still love our job as much as we did when we started out some four decades ago.”

The band released a 2LP deluxe edition of their 15th album, Future Past, in November, which includes all 15 original album tracks as well as a cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years.”

Check out the dates for the Future Past 2023 North American tour below.

May 27 – Napa Valley, CA @ Bottlerock Festival*

May 28 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center

May 31 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena

June 1 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center

June 3 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena

June 6 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center

June 7 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center

June 9 – The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

June 10 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center

June 13 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

June 15 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena

June 17 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena

June 18 – Sunrise, FL @ FLA Live Arena

August 24 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center

August 26 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena

August 28 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Augusts 29 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

August 31 – St. Paul, MN @ Minnesota State Fair

Sept. 1 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

Sept. 3 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC

Sept. 6 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden

Sept. 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center

Sept. 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena

Sept. 10 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center

Sept. 13 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena

Sept. 16 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena

Sept. 19 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
*Festival show

08 Feb 2023

Former Memphis Cop Shared Photo of Tyre Nichols’ Body

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Tyre Nichols Memorial Service

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

In new documents, the Memphis Police Department claims one of the cops involved in the beating death of Tyre Nichols allegedly sent a photo of him to five other people afterward.

According to reports, the Memphis Police Department revealed in documents released by the state on Tuesday (Feb. 7th) that they found that one of the five officers charged with the beating and death of Nichols took a picture of him as he sat propped up against a police cruiser afterward. That officer, Demetrius Haley, would later admit to “sending a photograph of Mr. Nichols to … two fellow officers, a civilian employee of the department and a female acquaintance,” in addition to another unidentified person. The document also states that Haley allegedly used a personal phone, which is against police procedure.

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The revelation came as part of a filing by the police department on January 25th with the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to request the decertification of Haley and the other four officers. That decertification would prevent the men from working with another department in the state of Tennessee.

Haley was identified as the officer who forced Nichols out of his car at the traffic stop on January 7th. Internal reports showed that Haley never told him why he was stopped or that he was under arrest. They described the photo-sharing as part of a pattern of “blatantly unprofessional” behavior that included the former officers, who are Black, laughing after beating Nichols, “bragging” about their actions, and hurling repeated profanities at Nichols. He would die of his injuries three days later.

Haley and the other four officers involved in the assault after the 29-year-old Nichols was detained would be fired days and indicted on multiple charges multiple criminal charges which include second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official oppression, and two counts of official misconduct. The actions took place before the city released the video of the officers beating, restraining, and using a taser on Nichols. A sixth officer who is white, Preston Hemphill, was fired a month after for his role in the incident but has not been charged. City attorney Jennifer Sink stated on Tuesday that up to 13 other officers involved in the incident could face disciplinary action within the coming weeks.

08 Feb 2023

MSCHF Brought The Astro Boy Boots To Life & People Are Feeling It?

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MSCHF Big Red Boots

Source: MSCHF / MSCHF

Good news sneakerheads, it seems like this new generation of hypebeasts may actually leave us some good chances to copp our favorite Jordans and Dunks as they ditch the OG look for a more, well, futuristic fit.

Highsnobiety is reporting that Brooklyn-based brand MSCHF has just brought to life Astro Boy’s signature Big Red Boots and believe it or not, heads are actually walking around in these. Just yesterday the Oklahoma City Thunder’s star point guard, Shai Gilgeous Alexander rolled up to last night’s highly anticipated game against the LA Lakers in a pair of the MSCHF boots seemingly ready to find out who framed Roger Rabbit or something.

Needless to say this isn’t our particular flavor, but if it means this next generation of heads will focus their bots and backdooring on cartoonish boots while we cop our favorite retro sneakers at an easier clip, then hey, we’re all for it. In an era where heads like to standout and be “different” for the sake of social media, you can bet you’ll see a few of these floating around your neighborhood depending on availability.

“The Big Red boot is a realization of a specific sort of cartoonish abstraction of a shoe,” MSCHF co-founder Daniel Greenberg tells Highsnobiety.

“In cartoon world, representation works with reduced information to immediately imply an object, rather literally depict it. The Big Red Boot works on a similar principle, where it is an absurd, simplified form that conveys the idea of “BOOT” without worrying too much about the particulars of realism.”

Remember the flack that Fat Joe got for looking like Thanos when he wore those Kanye boots? Those seem rather pedestrian by comparison these days. Just saying. Though the boots look rather flimsy, apparently they’re actually pretty sturdy.

“From a technical perspective, the BRB pushes the envelope of its single-mold-shell design, simply because it is really large,” Greenberg says. “It’s shot in a much higher quality material and process than, say, a rain boot, or other thin-walled low-cost boots.”

Naturally MSCHF doesn’t want anymore legal smoke so they aren’t dubbing these the “Astro Boy” boots, but the kicks will go live on February 16th on their website and will retail for $350. You have to wonder what this new creation could lead to in the future. Before you know it it’s gonna start looking like a Mega Man game out on these streets or something.

Will you be looking to cop a pair of MSCHF’s big red boots next week? Let us know in the comments section below.

08 Feb 2023

Missy Elliott & Jack Harlow Couldn’t Stop Laughing During Doritos Super Bowl Ad: ‘We Had a Great Couple of Hours’

Missy Elliott and Jack Harlow had a blast filming their Doritos Super Bowl LVII commercial. But according to the “Work It” legend, the hilarious 90-second spot just scratches the surface of the belly laughs they shared on set during their first-ever in-person meeting.

OK, sorry, that’s not true.

Missy realized while speaking to Billboard this week that they actually (almost) met before, but she just forgot. “I never met Jack before. Wait … lies,” Elliott laughed while recalling that she thought they had never crossed paths, but that Harlow reminded her on set that they were in the same studio years ago when he was an up-and-comer. While they didn’t connect then, she was blown away by how “sweet and kind” Harlow was during the shoot.

In a teaser ad released last week, Elliott chilled at her studio as Harlow called up looking for a collab, though Missy shot down the idea of a “love triangle” with the incredulous, “I don’t know about that.” Though the love triangle bit isn’t in the in the final cut, Missy said they “laughed as if we had met years back, especially when we had to keep doing those lines. It would be fun to do those bloopers of us doing the skit.”

The final product, though, has plenty of twists and surprises. Harlow said it was an honor to finally meet Elliott in person, describing her as someone who is “very special to me … super special. And, not for nothing, “completely down to Earth and an open book … she left me inspired.” He said they joked and laughed their way through the script about Jack discovering that the magic element his music is missing is a tasty triangle.

Of course that triangle looks like a Doritos chip, but in Jack’s mind, it’s transformed into a musical triangle, and when he threatens to quit hip-hop to pursue triangle greatness, Missy warns him that it’s a fool’s errand. “I gotta do me, Missy,” Harlow tells her in the ad titled “Jack’s New Angle.” Cut to Jack rocking an arena while hitting the ‘angle, teaching a room full of prodigies how to correctly strike the three-sided instrument and budding triangalists mobbing a music store that is suddenly sold out of the least respected percussion piece of an orchestra.

Thanks to Harlow, triangles become a worldwide phenomenon, and though he’s the pioneer, in the end Harlow loses out to none other than Sir Elton John — in a surprise cameo — for Triangle Player of the Year.

Harlow said it’s a “big honor” to be part of the big game for the first time, especially partnering with the maker of his favorite childhood snack on the ad. When reminded that Elliott played halftime with Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz in 2015 and then went on to star in a 2020 Pepsi SB ad, Harlow said he would feel “blessed” if he could pull a reverse Missy and play the halftime show in the future. “I look up to her so much, so it was very special to me,” he said of their collab.

“We were laughing and joking and having a good time, but I also just wanted to hear stories about some of the things she did and where her head was at when she was making music early in her career,” he said of the between-shots chatter; Elliott said their downtime also included discussions of possibly getting together to work on another project in the future. As for the surprise John cameo, Harlow called it the “cherry on top … that’s an icon that reaches everyone and adds even more legitimacy to the ad. He’s so iconic and accomplished, a genius. I was thrilled that he a part of it.”

Though they did not meet in person, Harlow said being in an ad with John was “a nice start” and he’s confident they’ll meet in the future IRL. Harlow, who will make his big screen acting debut in the upcoming reboot of White Men Can’t Jump, said he was challenged at times to come up with some “different energy” on the shoot promoting the sweet and tangy BBQ Doritos line, but he appreciated the challenge.

Neither would reveal their pick to win the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, with Harlow saying he’s “messy” and just loves “drama,” so he would like to see a thrilling, overtime game. Elliott added that she doesn’t “want to get on nobody’s bad side,” so she’s keeping her pick mum and just gearing up to watch the game, and the commercial, of course.

“I will be up early to watch [the commercial],” Elliott said of her plans for Wednesday (Feb. 8), when the full spot drops. “I don’t think there’s a bigger platform of people that are watching you.”

Check out the full ad that will air on Sunday (Feb. 12) during the big game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., above.