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19 Jan 2023

C.J. Harris’ Cause of Death Revealed Following Sudden Passing

C.J. Harris’ cause of death was made public on Thursday (Jan. 19), less than a week after his sudden and tragic passing.

The singer died at just 31-years-old after suffering a heart attack on Sunday (Jan. 15), according to reporting by People. (Billboard has reached out to the Walker County Coroner’s Office in Harris’ native Alabama for confirmation.)

Harris first made waves across the nation by competing on Season 13 of American Idol in 2014, when he auditioned for judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and newcomer Harry Connick Jr. with a cover of “Soulshine” by The Allman Brothers Band. After earning his golden ticket, he progressed through Hollywood week and the semifinals to become one of the three Wild Card contenders to make the season’s crop of 13 finalists.

During the live shows, Harris often performed with his trusty guitar, churning out country-soul covers of Darius Rucker’s “Radio,” “Can’t You See” by Toy Caldwell of The Marshall Tucker Band, Hunter Hayes’ “Invisible,” The SteelDrivers’ “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” and more. Eventually, he was eliminated in sixth place behind eventual winner Caleb Johnson, runner-up Jena Irene and fellow finalists Alex Preston, Jessica Meuse and Sam Woolf.

Following his stint on Idol, Harris embarked on the post-season American Idols LIVE! Tour 2014 with the rest of the top 10 and even duetted with Rucker — one of his major inspirations — at the Grand Ole Opry. In 2016, the singer faced legal troubles after being arrested in a drug bust in Walker, Ala., where he was charged with three counts of alleged felony distribution of a controlled substance, including oxycodone and marijuana. His debut single, “In Love” was released in 2019, and just weeks before his death he hinted at new music he was planning to release later this year.

19 Jan 2023

The 1975’s ‘The City’ Skyrockets in Streams Following Taylor Swift Live Cover

If The 1975 wanted to find love for one of their earliest hits, then they know what the secret weapon is: a co-sign from the biggest pop star in the world, via a live rendition at their own concert.

Taylor Swift, who has long shared a mutual appreciation with the U.K. alt-pop quartet (and who may have even worked with them on still-unreleased Midnights sessions), made a surprise appearance at the first of their two headlining gigs at London’s O2 Arena last Thursday (Jan. 12). She played an acoustic version of her Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Anti-Hero” — technically the song’s live premiere — and then treated 1975 fans to a solo cover of “The City,” the group’s first-ever single and a highlight of their self-titled 2013 debut album.

Unsurprisingly, the performance — which enraptured social media and made headlines around the world — led to a considerable bump in consumption for The 1975’s original “City.” The song’s daily official on-demand U.S. streams nearly quadrupled from last Wednesday (Jan. 11, the day before the concert) to the following Friday — from 13,000 to 49,000, a gain of 276%, according to Luminate. The daily streams fell back from there, but still remained in the 20,000s, well above where it was before it got the Swift bump.

As for “Anti-Hero,” the other song Swift played — well, it probably doesn’t need any additional exposure to help its streams at this point. But it does hold on for an eighth week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week, making it her longest-running No. 1 to date.

19 Jan 2023

‘Follow the Leader’: Korn Releases Makeup Palette to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of Breakthrough Album

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Korn is dipping into the makeup business to celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the multiplatinum-selling album, Follow the Leader.

The Grammy-winning collective teamed up with HipDot to release an exclusive “Follow the Leader” CD-style makeup palette earlier in the week. The $22 palette features soft matte, shimmer and glittery eye shadows sprinkled among eight different shades named after a track from the album.

The shade collection includes “My Gift to You,” “Dead Bodies Everywhere,” “Pretty,” “Freak on a Leash,” “Got the Life,” “Children of the Korn,” “It’s On!” and “Seed.”

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Unfortunately, the HipDot x Korn color palette sold out but that doesn’t mean you can’t snag something from the collaboration. Korn also released Follow The Leader 3 Piece Enamel Pin Set, which includes a “Freak on a Leash” bullet pin and two album artwork characters.

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Korn Follow the Leader Pin Set

$18

This isn’t Korn’s first collab celebrating Follow the Leader. Last year, Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis released a sold out “Freak on a Leash” pet product line that included dog leashes and more.

Follow the Leader, Korn’s third studio album, made its debut on August 18, 1998 and featured hit singles “Freak on a Leash” and “Got the Life. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 selling 268,000 units in its premiere week and has since sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.

Korn’s new album, Requiem Mass, arrives on Feb. 3. The project is a live version of 2022’s Requiem LP and will feature songs from the band’s concert at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles last year.

In June, Korn will head to Memphis to take the stage at Bonnaroo 2023. The four-day festival will be headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Zeds Dead, Liquid Stranger and Odesza.

Tickets to Bonnaroo, which went on sale Thursday (Jan. 19), are currently priced at $175 for one-day admission and around $350 and up for a multi-day pass. Click here to buy tickets.

19 Jan 2023

Depeche Mode’s ‘Never Let Me Down Again’ Flying High After ‘Last of Us’ Streaming Bump

Did you know that Depeche Mode‘s 1987 Music for the Masses single “Never Let Me Down Again” was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit? Neither did we — in fact, our records show that the song actually peaked at No. 63 in Feb. ’88 — but according to HBO’s new post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us, it’s one of the songs featured in Fred Bronson’s essential The Billboard Book of Number One Hits compendium, which characters on the video game adaptation play over the radio in order to send coded messages to fellow survivors.

Regardless of its chart peak, the use of Depeche Mode’s dark synth-rock classic in the pilot episode’s chilling final scene — an ’80s song is meant in the show’s universe as a message of trouble — inspired many of the new video game adaptation’s millions of viewers to go play it themselves. “Never Let Me Down Again” more than tripled in official on-demand U.S. streams overnight, from 26,000 on the day of the premiere (Jan. 15) to 83,000 the next day — a gain of 220.5%, according to Luminate. (Depeche Mode even helped welcome the newly interested by adding a “Heard on Episode 1 of The Last of Us” parenthetical to the title of the song’s official YouTube video.)

Of course, when you start talking about minor crossover hits from the ’80s alt-pop underground being revived by blockbuster TV shows in 2023, all minds naturally go to Kate Bush and Stranger Things. The song has a long way to go still before showing that kind of renewed impact just yet — but it’s certainly a message that when it comes to catalog hits being given new life by dramatic TV syncs, a lot of artists are going to want to be taking a ride with The Last of Us.

19 Jan 2023

‘M3GAN’ Scores Streaming Gains for David Guetta & Sia’s ‘Titanium’

The month of M3GAN — the camp-horror film starring a robot doll who’s more sinister than she first appears — marches on, with winning box office receipts and a newly announced sequel. Meanwhile, M3GAN is slicing her way into the music world as well, with a mini-revival of David Guetta and Sia’s 2011 hit “Titanium.”

Midway through the film (minor spoiler), M3GAN croons the pre-chorus and hook of “Titanium” to comfort Cady (played by Violet McGraw), her human companion, after a traumatic incident. The out-of-nowhere serenade makes for one of the more memorable moments in M3GAN, and theatergoers have sought out the original version of “Titanium” — as well as a new, stripped-down take on the song, cleverly dubbed “Megan’s V3rsion,” that Sia released days after the film’s Jan. 6 premiere.

During the film’s first full week of release, the original “Titanium” rose 4.6% in weekly U.S. on-demand streams, to 1.6 million, according to Luminate. “Titanium” originally peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a commercial breakthrough in the U.S. for Sia, as the acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter would go on to find solo success with hits like “Chandelier” and “Cheap Thrills.”

On Jan. 9, Sia, sensing a M3GAN-led revival of the song, unveiled “Titanium (Megan’s V3rsion),” a piano rework that recalls M3GAN’s demon-doll balladry (although, sadly, does not feature any of her vocals). “Megan’s V3rsion” has earned 226,000 U.S. on-demand streams to date, a figure that’s separate from the streams of the original “Titanium,” according to Luminate.

While M3GAN creeps toward a $100 million global box office gross, a sequel, titled M3GAN 2.0, was announced with a Jan. 17, 2025 release date. If the character of M3GAN is simply a Sia fan, which single does she belt out in the sequel? “Wild Ones”? “Elastic Heart”? We’ll find out in two years.

19 Jan 2023

Gloria Gaynor Gives Miley Cyrus‘ ’Flowers‘ Her Seal of Approval: ‘Well Done Miley!’

Gloria Gaynor is giving Miley Cyrus her flowers. Since its release less than a week ago, the former Disney Channel star’s brand new single “Flowers” has been drawing a lot of comparisons to the former’s iconic 1978 hit “I Will Survive” — and Gaynor approves.

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In a recent Instagram post, the 79-year-old disco icon shared her love for Cyrus’ new track, which dropped Friday (Jan. 13) and leads the way for the 30-year-old pop star’s eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation to arrive March 10. “I’m in Nashville working on new music and just heard, “Flowers,” for the first time, @MileyCyrus …,” the Masked Singer alum wrote in a Jan. 17 Instagram post, sharing a snippet of the “Flowers” music video.

“Your new song carries the torch of empowerment and encourages everyone to find strength in themselves to persevere and thrive,” Gaynor continued. “Well done Miley!”

Fans were quick to note the similarities between “Flowers” and “I Will Survive,” and a mashup of the two songs have started circulating on Twitter in the past few days. Some think that Cyrus purposefully interpolated Gaynor’s self-love anthem at certain moments in the song, particularly during the choruses — a tribute that would make sense given “Flowers” is very similar in message to “I Will Survive.”

Some have also pointed out lyrical and melodic similarities between “Flowers” and Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.”

The first few weeks of January have been a whirlwind so far for Cyrus’ fans, who first kicked off her new musical era during her New Years’ Eve special on NBC, which she hosted alongside her country music legend godmother, Dolly Parton. During the special, she announced “Flowers” and its release date, which sent fans into a tailspin upon realizing that it was on Cyrus’ ex husband Liam Hemsworth’s birthday. Five days later, she unveiled the release date and cover art for her forthcomign studio album, Endless Summer Vacation.

See Gloria Gaynor’s post about Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” below.

19 Jan 2023

Elvis Presley & Britney Spears‘ ‘Toxic Las Vegas’ Debuts on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart

Elvis Presley and Britney Spears debut on Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Jan. 21) with “Toxic Las Vegas (Jamieson Shaw Remix)” at No. 26. The track earned 493,000 U.S. streams and sold 500 downloads in the Jan. 6-12 tracking week, according to Luminate.

Heard in the 2022 Presley biopic Elvis, and released Jan. 6, the track is a mash-up of two classics from different eras: Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” and Spears’ “Toxic.” “Viva,” credited to Presley with the Jordanaires, reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964; “Toxic” rose to No. 9 in 2004.

Elvis director Baz Luhrmann compared the King of Rock and Roll to the Princess of Pop in an interview with entertainment.ie last June. “Just like Britney, who creates the quintessential ’90s pop music, you’re richer than God and you’re in the Hollywood bubble,” he said. “That’s what happens to Elvis. He’s gone from being this rebel, this punk, deeply steeped with his Black music friends doing radical music, to suddenly being isolated in Hollywood doing pop.”

The star pairing gives Presley his inaugural appearance on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, which premiered 10 years ago this month. It’s the eighth placement for Spears, who earned her second No. 1 last September, alongside Elton John on “Hold Me Closer.” (Spears first led with “Scream & Shout,” with will.i.am, on that inaugural survey, dated Jan. 26, 2013, beginning a five-week reign.)

Concurrently, “Toxic Las Vegas” opens at No. 12 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, eclipsing the peak of Spears’ original “Toxic”; although its release predated the chart’s 2010 inception, “Toxic” hit No. 31 on that chart’s first edition in 2010.

On Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, Spears has three No. 1s and nine top 10s among 23 appearances. “Toxic Las Vegas” is Presley’s second hit there, following “Don’t Fly Away (PNAU Remix),” billed as by Presley and PNAU (No. 18, last July).

Meanwhile, “Toxic” marks the latest revival as a mash-up for the enduring song: In early 2022, “Toxic Pony,” a blend with Ginuwine’s No. 1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs smash, and a No. 6 Hot 100 hit, from 1996, reached No. 7 on R&B Digital Song Sales and No. 40 on Pop Airplay, among other showings.

19 Jan 2023

Megan Thee Stallion Says Label Is ‘Harassing’ Roc Nation CEO in Deposition Row

The latest battleground in Megan Thee Stallion’s war with her record label is a dispute over whether her manager – Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez – can be forced to sit for a deposition.

For months, the two sides have sparred over whether Perez must answer questions from lawyers for record label 1501 Certified Entertainment. They say she is “one of the most critical” witnesses in the ongoing case; Megan’s lawyers say they’re just trying to “harass” a busy executive who has little pertinent info.

In the latest filing on Tuesday, Megan’s attorneys said 1501’s arguments in the dispute are “entirely off base, bordering on nonsensical.” Perez doesn’t have any “unique or superior personal knowledge,” they said, and 1501’s lawyers should have sought such info from “alternative sources.”

The star rapper (real name Megan Pete) has been fighting with 1501 for more than two years, claiming the company duped a young artist into signing an “unconscionable” record deal in 2018 that was well-below industry standards. She says that when she signed a new management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019, she got “real lawyers” who helped her see that the deal was “crazy.”

That core dispute has mushroomed into additional litigation, with both sides accusing the other of various forms of wrongdoing and claiming millions in damages. A judge ruled in December that the case will need to be decided by a jury trial; a date has not yet been set.

With both sides preparing to make their case, 1501 sought to have Perez sit for a deposition – meaning she would meet with the company’s lawyers and answer questions about Megan’s case under oath. But the rapper’s lawyers quickly threw a challenge flag in November, seeking a so-called protective order that would have shielded Perez from what they called “gamesmanship” by 1501.

They pointed to what’s known as the apex doctrine, which limits when high-ranking executives can be forced to give a deposition. (That’s the same rule that Spotify cited last year when it tried to shield CEO Daniel Ek from questioning in a copyright lawsuit.) Under the apex doctrine, busy top officials only need to testify when they have unique info that can’t be derived from other less burdensome sources.

“1501 does not seek relevant, admissible evidence because Perez does not have any,” Megan’s lawyers wrote in their November filing. “Rather, 1501 is intent on harassing Perez and disrupting her responsibilities as CEO of Roc Nation.”

The label quickly fired back in December, arguing that Perez had been “directly, personally, and substantially involved in the underlying facts of the lawsuit.” They claimed she’d had direct conversations about whether Megan’s 2021 Something for Thee Hotties counted as an “album” under her deal – a central dispute in the case. And they said Perez had personally negotiated one of Megan’s record contracts at issue in the lawsuit.

“Ms. Perez is trying to use her position at Roc Nation to prevent 1501 from obtaining otherwise discoverable information from her as a fact witness,” the label’s lawyers wrote. “1501 is not seeking discovery from Ms. Perez as CEO of Roc Nation. Rather, 1501 is seeking discovery from Ms. Perez as a fact witness.”

With Tuesday’s new filing from Megan’s lawyers, both sides have now fully made their arguments, and a judge will rule in the coming weeks or months on whether Perez must sit down with 1501’s lawyers. A rep for Megan and Roc Nation did not immediately return a request for comment on the deposition dispute.

Steve Zager, lead attorney for 1501, told Billboard his client was simply trying to obtain key information from an individual who was “intimately involved” in the events that led to litigation: “It is not harassment to try to serve a witness with knowledge of the facts of a case with a deposition subpoena where her lawyers have refused to accept service on her behalf.”

Read this week’s entire legal filing from Megan Thee Stallion’s lawyers here:

19 Jan 2023

Skrillex, Fred Again.. & Flowdan’s ‘Rumble’ Rolls Into the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart’s Top 10

Skrillex, Fred Again.. and Flowdan fly into the top 10 on Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Jan. 21) with “Rumble,” up from No. 15 to No. 10. The song, released Jan. 4 and which debuted on the Jan. 14 tally from just two days of data, reaped 2.8 million streams and sold 1,000 downloads Jan. 6-12, according to Luminate.

“Rumble” marks the sixth top 10 for Skrillex and the first each for Fred Again.. and Flowdan. Skrillex boasts one leader: “Where Are You Now,” with Diplo and Justin Bieber, for two weeks in 2015.

Concurrently, “Rumble” roars on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (13-4) and enters Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (No. 11).

But there’s more from Skrillex: His “Way Back,” with PinkPantheress and Trippie Redd, opens at No. 13 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. The track, which starts with 1.8 million streams, is Skrillex’s 38th entry, dating to “Right In,” which hit No. 24 just after the chart began in January 2013. “Back” marks the third appearance for Trippie Redd and the first for PinkPantheress.

‘Seventeen’ at 50

Wuki, aka DJ/producer Kris Barman, debuts on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with “Edge of Seventeen” at No. 50. It’s Wuki’s first solo Billboard charted title, following a run with Innerpartysystem, which hit the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart with EP Never Be Content (No. 15, 2011).

“Seventeen” – with unbilled vocals by U.K. singer Clementine Douglas – is a cover of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Fleetwood Mac legendary singer Stevie Nicks’ classic “Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove),” which scaled Mainstream Rock Airplay (No. 4, September 1981) and the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 11, April 1982). More recently, Miley Cyrus interpolated the song, with Nicks, in “Edge of Midnight (Midnight Sky Remix),” a reworking of Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky,” a No. 14 hit on the Hot 100 in 2020.

‘Dice’ Is Winning

Shifting to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Armin van Buuren bursts into the top 10 with “Roll the Dice,” featuring Philip Strand (14-8). van Buuren’s 11th top 10 and Strand’s first, the song is drawing core-dance airplay on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, iHeartRadio’s Evolution and KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco, among other outlets. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)