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15 Nov 2022

Miranda Lambert Leads 2023 Country Grammy Nominations While Genre Gets Shut Out of Big Four Categories

Miranda Lambert leads the field for the 2023 Grammy nominations, announced earlier Tuesday (Nov. 15) as the only artist to receive a nomination in each of the four country categories — best country solo performance, best country duo/group performance, best country song and best country album.

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Her sweep brings her lifetime number of nominations to 27. That’s quite the feat, but it’s dwarfed by the legendary Willie Nelson, who received three nominations this year to add to his 53 previous nods. Nelson’s nominations are all in country this year, but befitting Nelson’s stature as an American icon, over the decades his nods have spanned a number of genres and categories including best pop collaboration with vocals, best Americana album and best traditional pop vocal album. In a fun twist, though he doesn’t receive a nomination since it’s not a songwriter’s category, Nelson also plays a part in “Midnight Rider’s Prayer,” which Brothers Osborne are nominated for in best country duo/group performance: The song samples Nelson’s “On the Road Again.”

Maren Morris, who last won in 2017, for best country solo performance, also lands three nominations. The two other leading nominees — Luke Combs with three and Ashley McBryde with two nods each — are looking for their first Grammy wins. 

Grammy voters, unlike voters for the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, tend to be more willing to look outside of the current radio charts for nominations — hence the Nelson love — but this year largely fell in step with the mainstream for best country song, best country solo performance and best country album. However, the Grammy voters continue to ignore Morgan Wallen, the biggest new artist to hit the format in the past five years, as Wallen did not receive a single nomination.

As usual, there was some spillover between like-minded musical categories. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, who received two nominations in the Americana categories, notched a nomination for best country duo/group performance, while country titans Bill Anderson and Dolly Parton were nominated in best American Roots performance.

While country music continues to struggle to become more inclusive, no artists of color received nominations in the country categories after Mickey Guyton received three nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards.  

Mainstream country artists were aced out of the four general categories. While the Recording Academy voters rarely include country artists in album, song, record and best new artist categories, streaming and touring sensation Zach Bryan (who did receive a nod for best country solo performance) had widely been expected to garner a best new artist nod, as had rising star Lainey Wilson.

For the past two years, the voters had included a country name (Ingrid Andress for 2021 and Jimmie Allen for 2022) in the final 10 for best new artist, though a country artist hasn’t won the award since 2010 when Zac Brown Band took home the golden gramophone. The last time a country artist won best album was Kacey Musgraves taking it for Golden Hour in 2019. 

A number of country-adjacent artists fared better in the four general all-genre categories, including Americana act Brandi Carlile, who earned album and record of the year nods among her seven total nominations and bluegrass sensation Molly Tuttle, who garnered a best new artist slot.

In songwriter of the year-non classical, one of five new categories added this year, Laura Veltz, who wrote songs for Maren Morris and Andress, received a nomination, and the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach was recognized in producer of the year-non classical, for his work with, among others, Hank Williams Jr. 

15 Nov 2022

The Legal Beat: YNW Melly’s Death Penalty Case – Plus Phoebe Bridgers, Megan Thee Stallion & More

This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings, and all the fun stuff in between. This week: A murder case against rapper YNW Melly turns into an appellate battle over the death penalty, Phoebe Bridgers defeats a producer’s defamation lawsuit, Megan Thee Stallion wins a restraining order against her label, and much more.

THE BIG STORY: YNW Melly Could Face Death Penalty

Three years after he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, YNW Melly has found himself at the center of a legal battle over the death penalty, with a trip to the Florida Supreme Court looming next.

If you haven’t been following: Melly (real name Jamell Demons) faces two counts of murder over accusations that he and another rapper, YNW Bortlen, shot and killed Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. in 2018.

A first-degree murder defendant in Florida would typically face the possibility of execution if convicted. But earlier this year, Melly’s attorneys argued that the state had forfeited the right to seek capital punishment by failing to comply with strict laws on how they must warn defendants that they’ll do so.

Florida requires prosecutors to give notice 45 days after arraignment if they plan to seek capital punishment. In Melly’s case, the state attorney filed such notice when they originally indicted the rapper in 2019, but they then failed to do so when they re-charged him with a so-called superseding indictment earlier this year. In July, a state trial judge sided with Melly’s lawyers, taking the death penalty off the table.

But in a ruling last week, a state appeals court overturned that decision. Since prosecutors gave notice that they might seek death when they first charged him, the court said they had complied with state rules – and more importantly, had avoided the due process problems the rules were designed to safeguard against.

“Notice is notice,” the court wrote in its opinion. “The defendant has had nearly three years to start the preparation of his defense to the state seeking the death penalty [and] the record contains no evidence that the defendant was prejudiced in any way.”

The ruling likely won’t be the last on Melly’s case. In handing down its decision, the appeals court certified that the case dealt with novel legal questions that are of “great public importance” to the state of Florida – meaning they should be decided by the state’s Supreme Court.

In a statement to Billboard, Melly’s attorney Philip R. Horowitz said he and his client were “disappointed in the ruling” but “look forward to our opportunity to argue our position before the justices.”

Other top stories this week…

PHOEBE SLAPPS DOWN LAWSUIT – A Los Angeles judge tossed out a lawsuit against Phoebe Bridgers that accused her of defaming producer/studio owner Chris Nelson, citing California’s anti-SLAPP law that’s designed to protect free speech against questionable lawsuits. Nelson’s lawsuit claimed that Bridgers lied about him in a series of October 2020 Instagram posts, in which the singer amplified accusations of abuse made against him by another woman. Her lawyers then fired back that Nelson was just using the lawsuit to “chill Ms. Bridgers’ allegations of abusive conduct, which are protected by the First Amendment.” Though Judge Curtis A. Kin sided with that argument last week, he did not issue a written ruling explaining the decision. Nelson has already vowed to appeal; a rep for Bridgers said the star felt “vindicated that the court recognized this lawsuit as frivolous and without merit.”

MEGAN THEE PLAINTIFF – A judge in Texas sided with Megan Thee Stallion and granted her a restraining order against her record label 1501 Certified Entertainment, issued after she claimed that the company “unlawfully” took steps “to block or interfere” with her ability to use her music in the lead-up to the AMAs on Sunday. The order bars the company from “preventing or blocking the use and exploitation” of Megan’s music in promotional content for the AMAs. The tussle ahead of the awards show is the latest front in a years-long legal war between Megan and 1501. She claims the label duped her into signing an unfair contract and has retaliated against her for challenging it; the company claims Megan, with the help of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, is using baseless litigation merely as a vehicle to escape a deal she “no longer likes.”

YE SUED YET AGAIN – Kanye West is facing a new copyright lawsuit over allegations that his “Life of the Party” illegally sampled from 1986 song “South Bronx” by the pioneering rap group Boogie Down Productions. The company that currently owns BDP’s copyrights says West’s people reached out to clear the sample, but then released it anyway when a deal was never struck. The case is the latest in a string of such infringement case against the embattled rapper, who (amid many, many other problems) has been repeatedly sued for failing to secure licenses for samples.

THEIR LOSS? – Just days after Condé Nast sued Drake and 21 Savage for using a fake cover story in Vogue magazine to promote their new album Her Loss, a federal judge issued a restraining order forcing them to stop using it. The judge ruled that the cover – one of several fake promos for the album – was likely violating the publisher’s trademarks because Drake and 21 were “misleading consumers” and “deceiving the public.”
 
DJ SUED FOR NFT PROFITS – 3LAU was hit with a lawsuit claiming the DJ refused to properly share the earnings from an $11 million NFT auction with Luna Aura, a musical collaborator who co-authored one of the songs involved. Aura claims she owns a 50% royalty stake in the song “Walk Away” from his album Ultraviolet — but that 3LAU (real name Justin Blau) offered her just $25,000 from the much-publicized NFT auction tied to the record: “Despite this financial windfall, defendants only offered Luna Aura a flat one-time payment.” 3LAU’s reps said the case was “without merit” and came as a surprise after months of negotiations.

BANKROLL FREDDIE ARRESTED – Rapper Bankroll Freddie (Freddie Gladney III) was arrested in Arkansas on federal gun and drug charges, part of a sweeping bust across the state that saw 80 defendants indicted and 45 arrested, including his father Freddie Gladney Jr. The rapper, signed to Quality Control, is facing 11 total charges, including various drug possessions and possession of a machine gun.

15 Nov 2022

Taylor Swift Reacts to ‘All Too Well’ Grammy Nomination: ‘I’ll Go Scream For 10 Minutes Straight’

Taylor Swift knows “All Too Well” what a Grammy nomination feels like, with 42 noms under her belt. But Tuesday’s (Nov. 15) announcement that the 10-minute version of her Red (Taylor’s Version) hit is up for song of the year meant something more to the star.

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Swift took to Instagram Stories following the news to share a screenshot from the song’s accompanying short film, which stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. “So many reasons to lose my damn mind today but… All Too Well 10 is the song I’m the most proud of, out of anything I’ve written,” she wrote on top of the photo. “The fact that it’s nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys, an award I’ve never won, that honors the songwriting… it’s momentous and surreal.”

The 11-time Grammy winner went on to say that she called Liz Rose, who co-wrote the song with Swift, noting that they “reminisced about how we started writing together when I was 14. She believed in me then and we are nominated together now. It’s just so cute I can’t cope.”

Swift concluded her message by writing, “I want to ramble about the magic and mystery of time and fate and reclaiming my art but instead I think I’ll go scream for ten minutes straight. And think about how this wouldn’t have happened without you.”

“All Too Well” was originally featured on Swift’s 2012 album, Red, which was one of the albums that Scooter Braun purchased when buying her her master recordings in 2019. She unveiled the  re-recorded LP, Red (Taylor’s Version), in November 2021, which included the new, 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” The song went on to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

See the full list of 2023 Grammy nominations here.

15 Nov 2022

Five Biggest Takeaways From the 2023 Grammy Pop Nominations: Superstar Showdowns, Historic Noms and ABBA

When the Grammys unveil their annual nominations, fans pore over the Big Four categories — album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist — to pinpoint the biggest snubs, surprises and upcoming showdowns. Yet the nominations for the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which were announced on Tuesday (Nov. 15), also included particularly stacked shortlists in the main pop categories; those include best pop solo performance, best pop duo/group performance and best pop vocal album. (Best traditional pop vocal album — which includes works by Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones, Pentatonix and Diana Ross — is a little removed from this conversation.)

Some of the biggest names in music have songs and albums in the running this year, a veteran group translated its shocking Big Four nods into the pop categories as well, and history could be made by international superstars turning their nominations into victories. Here are the five biggest takeaways from this year’s Grammy pop category nominations — buckle up, because a whole lot of star power is about to be unleashed.

The Superstars Show Out

The pop artists in the culture’s current upper echelon have nearly all been active over the past year, and as such, the pop categories are brimming with big names and their latest respective smashes. Out of the 11 songs nominated for best pop solo performance or best pop duo/group performance, six of them — Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Adele’s “Easy On Me,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe” and Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” — have reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, while other major hits from long-proven hitmakers like Doja Cat, Bad Bunny, Post Malone and Camila Cabello have also scored nods.

That’s hardly unusual for the pop categories — but in most years, songs by A-listers are intermixed with those by newer artists. This year, however, the 10 best new artist nominees score zero nominations in the pop categories, as well as none in the other Big Four categories. Lacy, who was ineligible for best new artist due to past nominations, is a rare representative of the rising-artist class, with his Hot 100-topping “Bad Habit” up for best pop solo performance, as well as for record of the year and song of the year. And kudos to Petras, who not only earned her first career Hot 100 entry with “Unholy,” but now has her first career Grammy nomination.

ABBA Crashes the Party

After scoring a surprise record of the year nod at this April’s Grammys with “I Still Have Faith In You,” the legendary Swedish quartet shows up twice in the Big Four categories this year — with their long-awaited comeback LP Voyage placing in the album of the year race, and “Don’t Shut Me Down” giving ABBA their second consecutive record of the year nod.

Both the album and song show up in the pop categories, too — for best pop vocal album and best pop duo/group performance, respectively — and those nominations might end up being more meaningful for ABBA in the long run. The Big Four categories are as hyper-competitive as ever with 10 nominees in each, and if Voyage or “Don’t Shut Me Down” prevails in the less-crowded pop categories (five noms each), ABBA would earn their first-ever Grammy, capping one of the most celebrated runs in pop history.

Bad Bunny Keeps Making History

With his May blockbuster album Un Verano Sin Ti earning Bad Bunny his first album of the year nod, the Puerto Rican superstar continues breaking ground — and could become the first recipient of the top prize for an album performed predominantly in Spanish. Yet it’s also worth noting that album standout “Moscow Mule” becomes the first-ever Spanish-language nominee for best pop solo performance in the category’s 12-year history, and gives Bad Bunny his first career appearance in the pop categories. The “Moscow Mule” nod confirms what we’ve already known about Bad Bunny’s enormous year: His popularity transcends language and genre, and he belongs in competition with his fellow A-listers of any nationality.

Could the Stars Align for Coldplay and BTS?

Seven-time Grammy winners Coldplay may have not won a new trophy since 2009, but the stadium rockers keep racking up nominations, including another album of the year nod — this time for 2021’s Music of the Spheres, the band’s third overall nod in the category and second consecutive project to be nominated. The space-pop full-length is also up for best pop vocal album this year, and Hot 100 No. 1 hit “My Universe” (alongside BTS) will compete for best pop duo/group performance — where it has a strong chance to earn the K-pop group its first career Grammy win.

BTS is actually up for three total Grammys — their song “Yet to Come” snagged a nod for best music video, and they’re credited for their Music of the Spheres contributions in album of the year — but ARMY should circle “My Universe” in best pop duo/group performance as perhaps the group’s best shot at a long-coveted W, especially as part of a category that doesn’t include mega-stars like Adele, Harry Styles or Taylor Swift. Recording Academy voters are still in Coldplay’s corner, and that support could earn the band their first trophy in over a decade — and, simultaneously, a historic win for BTS.

Adele, Harry and Lizzo Could All Dominate Early, Then Late

This year, five artists — Adele, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar and Lizzo — could earn a hat trick by winning in each of the album of the year, record of the year and song of the year categories. And while Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar both could rack up additional wins in the dance, R&B and hip-hop categories, Adele, Styles and Lizzo all have work nominated for best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album — and if any of them dominates in those categories, that could foreshadow a big night for someone in the Big Four.

Could Adele — who has won three best pop solo performance trophies in the past, and has yet to lose in the category — score another victory with “Easy on Me”? Will Harry Styles, whose “Watermelon Sugar” emerged victorious in the category two years ago to give him a first career Grammy, come out on top with his even-bigger smash “As It Was”? Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” won in the category the year prior to “Watermelon Sugar” — can “About Damn Time” notch another W for her? And when it comes to best pop vocal album, can 30, Harry’s House or Special take home the trophy and set the stage for the night’s top prize? No matter which artist wins on Grammy night, the pop categories will be a clash of some of music’s biggest personalities, and just might preview a return trip or two to the stage.

15 Nov 2022

R&B & Hip-Hop Reign Supreme With 2023 Grammy Nominations

On Tuesday morning (Nov. 15), the nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards were announced. Unsurprisingly, Beyoncé leads the charge with nine nominations for her dance-rooted album Renaissance, and awaits her blockbuster showdown against Adele’s 30 and eight other nominees for the coveted album of the year award. Other notable names in the R&B and hip-hop space that enjoyed a career day on the nominations front alongside the venerable megastar include Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and DJ Khaled. 

After releasing his first album in five years with Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar hopes to increase his win tally next January via his eight nominations. Mary J Blige, who delivered her riveting album Good Morning Gorgeous last November, reeled in six nods, including two in the Big Four categories. Regular collaborators Future and DJ Khaled also took home six nods apiece, and will square off in multiple rap categories — most notably best melodic rap performance, where their song “Beautiful” alongside SZA will compete against Future’s “Wait for You.” 

There were also notable snubs, as Summer Walker’s Still Over It and Ari Lennox’s age/sex/location failed to receive any nominations after garnering acclaim for their respective efforts. Stunningly, Brent Faiyaz also failed to receive any looks from the Recording Academy this year, after Wasteland proved to be an R&B darkhorse, nearly dethroning Bad Bunny from the Billboard 200 albums chart back in July. 

Check out the rest of our takeaways below. 

Khaled’s Drive for Five

Khaled’s poignant chants and godly affirmations did more than push his 12th studio album, God Did, to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last August — it secured him five nominations for next year’s ceremony. Anchored by the starry line-up of Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and Fridayy, “God Did” received nominations for best rap performance and best rap song. Khaled’s crowning moment of the day came when “God Did” was nominated for song of the year. 

The Return of Kendrick Lamar

Following his blistering Grammy run in 2018, where he won five awards, including a clean sweep in the rap categories for his seminal album DAMN, Kendrick Lamar looks to return to the winner’s circle with his 2022 effort, Mr. Morale & The Bigger Steppers. And though Lamar has remained active on the Grammy circuit in recent years (he spearheaded the album of the year-nominated Various Artists set Black Panther: The Album in 2018, and won two awards last year as a feature on Baby Keem’s “Family Ties”), this go-round, he competes as a solo star, eying more trophies. With a stacked AOTY battle against pop titans Adele, Beyonce, and Harry Styles, Lamar sits as the lone rapper in the category, ready to settle the score after losing out in 2018 and 2019. 

Make Room for the Ladies

The female side of the rap game was also well-represented, as GloRilla and Latto both earned recognition for their hard work. The former had the summer on tilt with her club-driven single “FNF,” which clawed its way into top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a nomination for best rap performance. As for the self-proclaimed “Queen of Da Souf,” Latto enjoyed her crossover success with her bubbly No. 3-peaking Hot 100 smash “Big Energy,” scoring nods for best new artist and best melodic rap performance, the latter for a live version of her breakthrough hit.

Elsewhere, Doja Cat also gnawed her way into the conversation after “Vegas” from the ELVIS soundtrack scored her a look the best rap performance category, while her Post Malone collab “I Like You (A Happier Song)” also earned recognition in best pop duo/group performance, and her Planet Her single “Woman” scored a trio of nods, for best music video, best pop solo performance and even record of the year. But amidst all the female MCs recognized, there was one glaring omission: Megan Thee Stallion, who previously netted three awards (including best new artist) in 2021, was missing out. She released her project Trauamzine last August and showcased vulnerability as she grappled with personal issues. Despite her candor, it wasn’t enough to secure a best rap album look.

Good Morning, Mary

Mary J. Blige, Muni Long and Jazmine Sullivan are among the R&B artists making Grammy headlines this morning. After winning an Emmy in September as one of the headliners of outstanding variety special (live) winner, the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, Blige continues her banner year. She scored six Grammy nominations today — four of them in the R&B field: best R&B performance for “Here With Me” featuring Anderson .Paak (who with Silk Sonic partner Bruno Mars declined to submit An Evening With Silk Sonic for Grammy contention); best traditional R&B performance for “Good Morning Gorgeous”; best R&B song for “Good Morning Gorgeous”; and best R&B album for Good Morning Gorgeous. Rounding out Blige’s total count are nods for her album and its title track in the album of the year and record of the year categories. 

Perfect Timing For “Hrs & Hrs” Star Muni Long 

With today’s announcement, Muni Long came into her own as a solo artist with nods for best R&B performance and best R&B song for her hit single “Hrs & Hrs,” as well as for best new artist. Prior to adopting her Muni Long moniker, songwriter Priscilla Renea had garnered notice as the co-writer of songs for Rihanna (“California King Bed”), Fifth Harmony (“Worth It”) and Ariana Grande (“Imagine”), among others. In 2021, Renea received a Grammy nomination for album of the year, via her writing contributions to H.E.R.’s Back of My Mind project.  

Jazmine Sullivan Is Back for More

Jazmine Sullivan, who took home her first two Grammys earlier this year for best R&B performance (“Pick Up Your Feelings”) and best R&B album (Heaux Tales), returns to the derby with three nominations, including best R&B performance and best R&B song (both for “Hurt Me So Good”) plus best traditional R&B performance through her featured turn on Adam Blackstone’s “’Round Midnight.” 

All Hail the Queen

With her nine nominations leading all artists for 2022, Beyoncé’s nods — beyond those for record, song and album of the year and two more in the dance/electronic categories (all for either for Renaissance or its Hot 100-topping lead single “Break My Soul”) — also covered three bases in R&B. In that field, she’s up for best R&B performance for “Virgo’s Groove,” best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and best R&B song for “Cuff It.” 

Also of note in the R&B field: Steve Lacy picks up a nod in best progressive R&B album for Gemini Rights, while that critically acclaimed album’s breakout single “Bad Habit” garners nods for record and song of year. Grammy-winning R&B/pop icon Babyface returns to Grammy recognition alongside Ella Mai with “Keeps on Fallin’,” vying for best traditional R&B performance. And Robert Glasper celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Grammy-winning 2012 Black Radio album with another best R&B album nomination for that series’ latest installment, Black Radio III. 

15 Nov 2022

Morrissey Says His Upcoming Album ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’ Will Be Delayed

Morrissey issued a statement on Monday (Nov. 14) informing fans that the release of his upcoming album is being pushed back.

“Bonfire of Teenagers is no longer scheduled for a February release, as stated by this site,” the singer shared in a note titled “Bonfire Unlit” on his official website. “Its fate is exclusively in the hands of Capitol Records (Los Angeles.).” Billboard reached out to Capitol for comment.

The long-gestating album is meant to serve as a follow-up to 2020’s I Am Not a Dog on a Chain. It was reportedly completed in mid-2021 and features production by Andrew Watt and musical assists from the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, bassist Flea and former RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Miley Cyrus and Iggy Pop also guest.

Morrissey has already debuted numerous tracks from the yet-to-be-released studio set live at various tour stops this year, including “Rebels Without Applause,” “Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings,” “Kerouac’s Crack,” “I Am Veronica,” “I Live in Oblivion” and “Saint in a Stained Glass Window.”

Speaking of touring, the British alt-rocker’s latest stop at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles ended abruptly when, according to fans on Twitter, he played a few songs before wrapping things up on account of the unseasonably cold weather. (“So, #Morrissey just walked off the stage at @Greek_Theatre after 30 min. Apparently he was too cold. Meanwhile, it’s in the 50s,” one fan tweeted.)

In 2021, Morrissey’s manager took issue with his portrayal on an episode of The Simpsons, which he deemed “harshly hateful.” The animated series, however, doubled down by releasing a parody single titled “Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You).”

15 Nov 2022

Dua Lipa’s Lawyers Blast ‘Levitating’ Copyright Lawsuit: ‘Devoid of a Shred of Factual Detail’

Attorneys for Dua Lipa are asking a federal judge to quickly toss out a lawsuit claiming she stole her smash hit song “Levitating” from a little-known reggae track, calling the allegations “speculative,” “vague” and supported by little real evidence.

Members of the Florida band Artikal Sound System sued Lipa earlier this year, claiming her 2020 smash hit – which spent 77 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – borrowed its core hook from their 2017 song “Live Your Life.”

But in a motion to dismiss the case filed Monday (Nov. 14), Lipa’s lawyers said there was no sign that anyone involved in creating “Levitating” ever even had access to the earlier song – a key requirement in any copyright lawsuit. Artikal Sound System’s attempts to show such a connection, they said, were “tortured.”

“They amount to nothing more than a speculative, attenuated theory based on numerous degrees of separation, none of which establish any link — let alone a concrete link — between the writers of ‘Levitating’ and ‘Live Your Life,’” wrote Lipa’s lawyers from the firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP.

“Plaintiffs are essentially seeking to plead access,” the star’s legal team wrote, “by alleging that someone who knows someone who knows someone might have met one of the ‘Levitating’ writers.”

“Levitating,” released in 2020 on Lipa’s second studio album Future Nostalgia, was a massive hit, eventually peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and securing the honor of being the longest-running top 10 song ever by a female artist on the chart.

Artikal Sound System is a reggae band based out of South Florida, founded in 2012 as a duo before later adding additional musicians and vocalist Logan Rex. The band released “Live Your Life” on its 2017 EP Smoke and Mirrors.

In their March lawsuit, the band said the songs sounded so similar that it was “highly unlikely that ‘Levitating’ was created independently.” The lawsuit also named Warner Records, as well as others who helped create the hit track.

In Monday’s filing, beyond arguing that Lipa and other writers never heard the song, her lawyers also said Artikal Sound System failed to show that the songs were similar enough to constitute copyright infringement. The complaint is full of “vague, boilerplate labels and conclusions,” they said, but “devoid of a shred of factual detail”

“Plaintiffs fail to allege a single fact that identifies what material from ‘Live Your Life’ is copied in ‘Levitating’,” Lipa’s lawyers wrote. “Instead, Plaintiffs merely conclusorily allege purported similarities between the two works without any factual detail whatsoever.”

An attorney for Artikal Sound System did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

The current case is one of two lawsuits Lipa is facing over “Levitating.” The other, filed just days later, claims she and the other writers lifted material from both a 1979 song called “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and a 1980 song called “Don Diablo.” That case is still pending in a different court.

15 Nov 2022

Steve Lacy, Brandi Carlile & More LGBTQ Artists Make Waves With 2023 Grammy Nominations

After months of debating who would score nominations at the 2023 Grammy Awards, we finally have our answers.

The Recording Academy unveiled the new slate of Grammy nominees on Tuesday (Nov. 15), with Beyoncé garnering a whopping nine nominations, followed by Kendrick Lamar with eight. Beyoncé also tied with her husband Jay-Z (who scored five nods of his own this year) for the most Grammy nominations by any artist, with 88 total throughout her career.

But Beyoncé was far from the only big winner with the 2023 noms — LGBTQ artists once again found themselves winning big, with nominations across each of the Big Four categories, and representation throughout genre categories including pop (Sam Smith & Kim Petras), rock (Brandi Carlile), R&B (Steve Lacy), country (The Brothers Osborne), alternative (Big Thief) and more.

To celebrate all these nominees, Billboard took a look at the 5 biggest wins for LGBTQ artists in the 2023 Grrammy nominations:

Steve Lacy’s big year continues

Between his first chart-topping single and a sold-out tour, Steve Lacy already had reason to celebrate 2022 as a massive year for his career. But now he gets to add even more on top of that — the alt-R&B star earned four Grammy nominations for his work this year, including record and song of the year for “Bad Habit.” It’s not his first time being recognized at the awards — the star received his first nod as part of the hip-hop collective The Internet for 2015’s Ego Death when he was just 17 years old, and later earned his first solo nomination for his debut album Apollo XXI, both for best urban contemporary album. Lacy returns in 2023 to the now-renamed category for best progressive R&B album with Gemini Rights.

Brandi Carlile returns to Americana as a Grammys staple

Over the course of the last decade, groundbreaking folk singer Brandi Carlile has established herself as a Grammys favorite, earning nominations every year since 2019. 2023 will certainly be no different — the singer-songwriter nabbed a stunning seven nominations, tying pop diva Adele for the third-most nominations of any artist this year, just behind Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar. Carlile grabbed two nominations in the Big Four categories (album of the year for In These Silent Days and record of the year for “You and Me on the Rock” featuring Lucius), as well as a pair of rock nominations (best rock performance for “Broken Horses” and best rock song for “You And Me On The Rock”). The star also returned to the categories of best Americana performance and song after she was excluded in 2022 when her song “Right on Time” was deemed a pop song by the Recording Academy — she went on to express her “disappointment” at not getting to represent her community in the genre.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras earn under-the-wire nods

Sam Smith and Kim Petras cut it close when they released their chart-topping collaboration “Unholy” on September 22; eligibility for the 2023 Grammy nominations closed just over one week later on September 30. Yet despite the tight deadline, the power of the pair’s sultry single could not be denied when nominations were announced on Tuesday — while Smith and Petras didn’t manage to earn any Big Four nods, they did get a look in best pop duo/group performance. This marks Petras’s first-ever Grammy nomination, and Smith’s first since he nearly swept the Big Four categories in 2015 with “Stay With Me” and In the Lonely Hour.

Anitta and Omar Apollo round out the Best New Artist roster

In recent years, the best new artist category has featured a bevy of up-and-coming queer artists — 2022 saw Arlo Parks and Japanese Breakfast earn nods, while 2021 featured acts like Phoebe Bridgers, Chika, Doja Cat and Kaytranada. It appears 2023 will be no exception — along with names like Latto, Wet Leg and Muni Long, out performers Anitta and Omar Apollo earn nominations for their breakthrough albums Versions of Me and Ivory, respectively. However, some LGBTQ music fans were surprised not to see Dove Cameron, Rina Sawayama or MUNA nominated in the category: Cameron, for example, earned her first Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 with “Boyfriend,” and even went on to win best new artist at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards — yet the singer was shut out of all categories at the Grammys this year.

Randy Rainbow goes up against comedy greats

Randy Rainbow may be best-known for his sharp-witted song parodies on YouTube — so it’s even more surprising that they weren’t what got the viral sensation his first Grammy nomination. A Little Brains, A Little Talent, the performer’s variety album released at the end of 2021, scooped a nomination for best comedy album. Rainbow’s covers of Broadway standards mixed with a few original and parody numbers of his own will face some stiff competition in comedy A-listers Jim Gaffigan, Patton Oswalt, Dave Chapelle and Louis CK.

15 Nov 2022

Drake & 21 Savage’s ‘Circo Loco’ Leads Hot Trending Songs Chart for Second Week

For the second week in a row, Drake and 21 Savage’s “Circo Loco” heads up Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter and sponsored by Xfinity Mobile, crowning the Nov. 19-dated survey.

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Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by Twitter and sponsored by Xfinity Mobile, track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across Twitter, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday.

“Circo Loco,” from the duo’s new album Her Loss, first topped the Nov. 12 list. The song has been the subject of debate on Twitter due to its lyrics referencing the alleged shooting of Megan Thee Stallion by Tory Lanez in 2020, with the former recently decrying the track.

In all, 10 of the chart’s 20 positions are from Her Loss’ tracklist, reflecting the album’s continued buzz on Twitter. The set concurrently launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while the entirety of the full-length debuts on the Billboard Hot 100.

The week’s highest Hot Trending Songs debut belongs to GloRilla, whose “Nut Quick” starts at No. 2. The dressing down of one of the rapper’s potential flings is one of nine tracks on her new project Anyway Life’s Great, released Nov. 11.

The other non-Drake/21 Savage song in top 10 is Sidhu Moose Wala’s posthumous release “Vaar,” which bows at No. 10. The Indian artist, real name Shubhdeep Sidhu, recorded the song before his May 29 shooting death. “Vaar” is his second posthumous premiere, following “SYL” in June.

Keep visiting Billboard.com for the constantly evolving Hot Trending Songs rankings, and check in each Tuesday for the latest weekly chart.