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01 Nov 2022

Yahritza Y Su Esencia Signs With Columbia Records

Yahritza Y Su Esencia has signed a label deal with Columbia Records, Billboard can confirm. The deal is a partnership between Columbia and the trio’s regional Mexican indie label Lumbre Music, who first signed them in February.

Composed of 15-year-old singer-songwriter Yahritza Martinez and her brothers Armando (guitar) and Jairo (bass), the sierreño band is currently managed by their older sister, Adriana Martinez. In April, Yahritza y Su Esencia made chart history with their heartbreak track “Soy El Unico” as the youngest Latin performer to enter the Billboard Hot 100 debuting at No. 20. Since then, major Latin and mainstream record labels had expressed interest in signing the regional Mexican act.

“Lumbre is really happy to partner with Columbia Records for Yaritza Y Su Esencia. It speaks volumes for an American-Mexican indie label like us to work hand in hand with a major label,” says Ramon Ruiz, CEO of Lumbre Music. “We have been working hard to develop and really get the kids’ music out to the masses and we have done some great work with them, including their first diamond certification, but are so excited to take them to the next level. We are all so passionate about this project it was important that whoever came into the project felt that same passion, and both the artists and Lumbre felt that with Columbia from the get-go. It felt like the right choice. Great things are coming for Yahritza Y Su Esencia!”

Yahritza Y Su Esencia, up for best new artist at the 2022 Latin Grammys, broke out on TikTok earlier this year where they uploaded covers and quickly created a zealous fan base. In March, after being discovered by Lumbre Music on the platform’s For You Page, they released their first single, “Soy El Único,” which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart.

Since, they scored their first No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart with their debut album, Obsessed, released in May. Elsewhere, the five-track set debuted at No. 7 on Top Latin Albums, and it also entered the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 173.

Yahritza Y Su Esencia added in a statement: “We are so excited to be working now with not only Lumbre but also a big label like Columbia! For us it’s just another step forward in accomplishing our dreams. We still have to go to school, but we are working hard on recording new music for our fans that we love so much and who helped get us to where we are today. We are very grateful to our entire team for all their support, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

01 Nov 2022

Pharrell Williams Teases BTS Collaboration on Upcoming Album: ’It’s Amazing’

Get ready, ARMY: More BTS music is coming! Pharrell Williams and RM sat down and interviewed each other for Rolling Stone‘s Musicians on Musicians issue in a snippet published on Tuesday (Nov. 1), which resulted in several teasers about both artist’s upcoming music endeavors.

During the pair’s conversation, RM asked Pharrell what’s up next for for his music, to which the 49-year-old shared exclusive information regarding his forthcoming album and a collaboration with BTS.

“Well, my project, it’s called … it’s [under] my name, and the title of the album is Phriends,” the songwriter-producer told the BTS member. “It’s the volume one. You guys [BTS] are on there, obviously. And I’m actually talking about this way more than I’m supposed to, but it’s a song from my album that [BTS] sang and it’s amazing, and I’m super grateful.”

While the pair made sure to keep details under wraps, RM said, “I just love this song.”

Pharrell noted that “Everyone that hears it is like, ‘Whoa.’”

Happy with their collaborative effort, Pharrell wanted RM to know he’s more than willing to share his talents on RM’s solo work. “You said you’re 90 percent done with your solo album,” he revealed. “But if within that last 10 percent, if you need — you don’t need me, but I mean …”

“I always needed you, for 15 years,” RM replied, adding that he feels “honored and grateful.”

Concluding their conversation, Pharrell gave RM some parting advice for his career. “I would just say continue to move forward. Continue to be curious. And don’t put any kind of pressure on what it is that you do by saying … No absolutes, like, ‘Oh, I will never do music again,’ or ‘I will never …’ I wouldn’t do any of that,” he told the rapper. “No nevers. Just stay along for the ride. Just keep going.”

Watch Pharrell’s conversation with BTS’ RM below.

01 Nov 2022

The First Billboard: All That Was ‘New, Bright and Interesting on the Boards’

On Nov. 1, 1894, Billboard published its first issue, one that’s vastly different from today’s magazine, as well as Billboard’s expanded platforms. The premiere issue wasn’t even focused on the music industry; Billboard’s eventual trademark concentration on music, and, of course, charts, would develop over decades.

THE FIRST ISSUE

Before it became a weekly publication, and a 24/7 presence online, Billboard launched as Billboard Advertising. Its original mission? One that helps explain its name: “A monthly résumé of all that is new, bright and interesting on the boards.”

Upon its premiere, the eight-page magazine (priced at 10 cents an issue, or, 99 cents per year), was “devoted to the interests of advertisers, poster printers, bill posters, advertising agents & secretaries of fairs.”

The magazine’s first cover subject was R.C. Campbell, then-president of the Associated Bill Posters’ Association. “No more fitting tribute can be paid to Mr. Campbell than to state that he is a man of infinite resource, progressive ideas and tireless industry,” Billboard noted in the inaugural issue.

“In selecting his photograph for the first number of this magazine, the Editor was actuated by the fact that he is the acknowledged leader, the first and foremost and most eminent man in the field which we aim to cover.”

THE CHARTS

As 128 years have passed (and Campbell has ceded the cover to, most recently, Steve Lacy, Brad Pitt and Damien Quintard), Billboard’s mission to report on and analyze the entertainment business remains on point, although with, for the past seven-plus decades, a more specific focus on the music segment of the industry.

The magazine’s first national music chart, the 10-position “National List of Best Selling Retail Records,” appeared in the July 27, 1940, issue. Previously, Billboard had highlighted the national “Sheet Music Best Sellers,” “Records Most Popular on Music Machines” (compiled from national reports from phonograph operators), and “Songs With the Most Radio Plugs” on a handful of New York radio stations. The “National List of Best Selling Retail Records,” however, was the first to poll retailers nationwide on record sales.

Tommy Dorsey crowned the first retail list with “I’ll Never Smile Again.” The eventual standard, featuring vocals by Frank Sinatra, would total 12 weeks at the summit. The scorecard paved the way for the industry-standard Billboard 200 albums chart (which became a weekly chart on March 24, 1956) and Billboard’s present-day menu of Luminate data-based format-centric song and album rankings and more. The Billboard Hot 100 songs chart premiered Aug. 4, 1958, with Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” the first of the tally’s 1,144 No. 1s and counting – right through Taylor Swift’s historic haul in the top 10 of the latest list, reflecting that, 128 years on, unprecedented feats can still be achieved in any week.

In more recent years, Billboard’s charts offerings have expanded to include surveys covering social and streaming activity, with streams added to the Hot 100’s weekly tabulation. Billboard has also launched the weekly Billboard Artist 100, expanded touring tallies, weekly surveys ranking songwriters and producers, the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. lists and more.

‘LET ITS GROWTH BE NATURAL’

Meanwhile, Billboard has grown to encompass multiple platforms, including the top-rated Billboard Music Awards, Women in Music, industry conferences, podcasts, and Billboard Live on SiriusXM, in addition to the weekly magazine and more.

“Although only in its swaddling clothes, [our] success is already absolutely assured,” Billboard proclaimed on page four of the maiden issue. “The publishers aim to have it always newsy and to maintain a high and exacting standard of excellence in all articles appertaining to the interest of its readers.”

As a “What They Think of Us” feature reflected, “Responses to the very modest prospectus demonstrated that beyond all doubt or peradventure … surely a journalistic youngster was never started under such auspicious circumstances.”

“Start the new paper in a small and inexpensive manner, and let its growth be natural. Do not force it. You will not need to. There is a field for it,” advised Col. Burr Robbins.

Added Al. Bryan of Cleveland, “It should have been started long ago.”

01 Nov 2022

Harry Styles Is Danny Zuko, Sings ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’ at Halloween Concert

Harry Styles fans have got chills, and they’re multiplying, ’cause for his Monday night (Oct. 31) Harryween concert in Los Angeles, the 28-year-old pop star dressed up as Danny Zuko from Grease and performed a heart-stopping cover of “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”

Taking the stage at the Kia Forum, where he’s currently stationed until Nov. 15 for a 15-night residency, Styles sang tracks from his May-released album Harry’s House while dressed in black jeans, a leather jacket and a studded tank top with the word “Harryween” emblazoned on the back in glittery red lettering. He even had his hair styled into the slick, dark coif sported by John Travolta in the iconic 1978 film, while some of his band members dressed up as the Pink Ladies.

Then, it came time for the “As It Was” singer to perform a cover of one of the musical’s famous songs. But instead of “Greased Lightnin’” or “Sandy,” Styles instead chose a ballad performed by Sandy Olsson.

Belting out “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” sung by Olivia Newton-John — who passed away in August — the Grammy winner had his crowd swaying sentimentally to the beat and cheering him on during the song’s most intense moments.

“But now there’s nowhere to hide since you pushed my love aside/ I’m out of my head, hopelessly devoted to you,” he riffed, walking back and forth onstage past his drummer, who was dressed in Sandy’s black cat suit from Grease‘s end scene.

Fans online were ecstatic over Styles’ Halloween costume — “I’M HYPERVENTILATING,” wrote one — but so were those in the concert crowd while the show was still happening. TikTok star Chris Olsen, for example, was in the audience, holding up a thirsty sign that simply read “DADDY?”

The Don’t Worry Darling star noticed the sign, and had the perfect response. Pointing directly at Olsen, he answered the sign’s question with a simple “Yes?”

“I fear that there may be a communication breakdown from this distance …,” Styles added. “But just know: Yes?”

Watch Harry Styles cover “Hopelessly Devoted to You” as Danny Zuko from Grease and react to being called “Daddy” on Olsen’s sign below:

01 Nov 2022

Hip-Hop World Mourns Death of Migos‘ Takeoff: ’This Is Beyond Sad’

The shocking death of Migos‘ Takeoff, 28, early Tuesday morning (Nov. 1) has elicited a flood of response from the hip-hop community. The youngest member of the rap trio was shot and killed at a Houston-area bowling alley according to the Houston Police Department.

A Houston PD spokesperson said the rapper (born Kirshnik Khari Ball) — who was one third of the Migos trio alongside his uncle, Quavo, and cousin, Offset — was at a private party at a bowling alley in downtown Houston with Quavo around 2:35 a.m. when investigators say shots rang out during an afterparty.

KHOU reported that police said someone started shooting at the gathering of around 40 people, sparking guests to flee the area with one victim, Takeoff, shot in the head or neck. Two other unidentified victims were reportedly transported to a local hospital in private vehicles.

Ja Rule echoed the thoughts of many commenters in his memorial for the slain rapper. “Rip Takeoff.. this s–t has to STOP… sending love to friends and family,” he tweeted, while producer London On Da Track said, “Long live Takeoff s–t krazy out here.” Lecrae was at a loss for words about Takeoff’s death, which came just hours after the rapper and his uncle, Quavo, released the Halloween-themed video for their Unc & Phew single “Messy.”

“No hot takes. No profound thoughts. Just sad that another rapper, son, brother, and friend has been killed. God be with all those who feel the loss,” Lecrae wrote, with producer Mike Will Made It writing, “RIP TAKE, DAM LIL BRO,” along with crying face, praying hands, broken heart, crown and flowers emoji. Gang Starr’s DJ Premier decried the senselessness of the death. “Condolences to Takeoff’s family,” he wrote. “This is beyond sad to be killed in a senseless situation with so much success.”

At press time a spokesperson for Offset had not returned requests for comment on the incident and a Houston PD spokesperson said there was no additional information on the injured and no suspects in custody or motive for the shooting; it also appeared that Quavo and Offset had not yet commented on Takeoff’s death.

See some of the reactions to Takeoff’s death below.

01 Nov 2022

Proven Hit: Morgan Wallen Scores His First 4-Week No. 1 on Country Airplay Chart

Morgan Wallen‘s “You Proof” dominates Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart (dated Nov. 5) for a fourth week, as it drew 30.5 million audience impressions (down 1%) in the tracking week ending Oct. 30, according to Luminate.

Wallen wrote the song with ERNEST, Ashley Gorley, Keith Smith and Charlie Handsome, the latter of whom also produced it with Joey Moi.

“You Proof,” the Sneedville, Tenn.-born Wallen’s seventh Country Airplay leader, becomes his first to reign for four frames. It surpasses “Wasted on You,” which started its three-week rule in July, and “Whiskey Glasses,” which also controlled the list for three frames, beginning in June 2019.

Wallen’s additional four No. 1s led for a week each: “Sand in My Boots” (this February); “More Than My Hometown” (November 2020); “Chasin’ You” (May 2020); and “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line (June 2018).

What makes Wallen’s latest, a standalone single, strong enough to stand apart from his prior Country Airplay chart-toppers? “The support from country radio has been astounding,” Stacy Blythe, Big Loud senior vice president of promotion, tells Billboard. “The one thing that I can definitely point to with ‘You Proof’ is that there was much anticipation for new music from Morgan. Morgan continues to up his game with every single release and, as the team responsible for taking each one to radio, we have jointly been committed to upping our game.”

“Proof” concurrently ties Wallen’s longest stay atop the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart. Reigning for an 11th week, it matches the command of “Wasted,” which logged its 11th week at No. 1 in August. “Proof” drew 13 million official streams and sold 3,000 downloads in the U.S. in the Oct. 21-27 tracking week.

Meanwhile, Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album (which houses “Wasted”) rules Top Country Albums for a record-extending 80th week, with 43,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week.

‘Half’ Time

Thomas Rhett rolls up his 20th Hot Country Songs top 10 as “Half of Me,” featuring Riley Green, jumps 15-10. The single corralled 5.5 million streams (up 53%), having received more prominent placement on Amazon’s Country Heat playlist in the tracking week. On Country Airplay, it pushes 6-5 for a new high (23.1 million, up 5%).

Rhett co-penned “Half” with his dad Rhett Akins, Will Bundy and Josh Thompson. It’s from Rhett’s album Where We Started, which arrived at its No. 2 Top Country Albums peak in April. Rhett first reached the Country Airplay top 10 in September 2013 with “It Goes Like This,” his first of 17 No. 1s.

Green hits the Hot Country Songs top 10 for the first time. He previously reached a No. 11 best with his first entry, “There Was This Girl,” in March 2019.

01 Nov 2022

Taylor Swift Rules Artist 100, Hot 100 & Billboard 200 Simultaneously for 11th Time

For the 11th time in her career, Taylor Swift is simultaneously No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100, Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts.

The superstar returns to No. 1 on the Artist 100 for a 51st total week on top, extending her record for the most weeks spent at the summit. Meanwhile, Midnights launches atop the Billboard 200 albums chart and its lead single “Anti-Hero” soars in at No. 1 on the Hot 100 songs chart.

Midnights becomes Swift’s 11th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 – tying her with Barbra Streisand for the most among women – with 1.578 million equivalent album units earned in the Oct. 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate. That’s the largest one-week total since the debut week of Adele’s 25 (3.482 million) on the Dec. 12, 2015, chart. The new set is also already the top-selling album of 2022, with 1.140 million copies sold in its first week.

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On the Hot 100, all 20 tracks from Midnights (encompassing its 13-song standard version and its “3am Edition,” adding seven songs) debut on the latest list, with a single-week record 10 in the top 10. (Drake previously charted as many as nine simultaneous Hot 100 top 10s, on the Sept. 18, 2021, ranking.)

Swift became the first act to lead the Artist 100, Hot 100 and Billboard 200 simultaneously on charts dated Nov. 15, 2014, thanks to her LP 1989 and its lead single “Shake It Off.” The only artist to spend more weeks tripling up is Drake, who’s done so 16 times.

Most Weeks Spent at No. 1 on the Artist 100, Hot 100 & Billboard 200 Simultaneously

  • 16, Drake
  • 11, Taylor Swift
  • 9, Adele
  • 5, The Weeknd
  • 2, Ariana Grande
  • 2, Ed Sheeran
  • 2, Harry Styles
  • 1, Beyoncé
  • 1, Justin Bieber
  • 1, BTS
  • 1, Camila Cabello
  • 1, Future
  • 1, Kendrick Lamar

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

01 Nov 2022

Amazon Music Now Offers 100 Million Songs to Prime Members

Amazon Music will expand its ad-free offering for Prime members from 2 million songs to more than 100 million songs, the company announced on Tuesday (November 1). There is one caveat, however: Prime members can only listen on shuffle, unless they upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited. 

Along with the increased access to music, Amazon announced that Prime members will also have access to a wide-selection of ad-free podcasts, plus a newly launched Podcast Previews feature that lets listeners easily test snippets of episodes to see if they like them.

“When Amazon Music first launched for Prime members, we offered an ad-free catalog of 2 million songs, which was completely unique for music streaming at the time,” Steve Boom, vp of Amazon Music, said in a statement. “We continue… to bring even more entertainment to Prime members, on top of the convenience and value they already enjoy. We can’t wait for members to experience not only a massively expanded catalog of songs, but also the largest selection of ad-free top podcasts anywhere, at no additional cost to their membership.”

This expansion follows the news from April that Amazon Music Unlimited raised its price for Prime subscribers from $7.99 per month to $8.99 (or from $79 per year to $89) and similarly upped the cost of its single-device plan (for Amazon’s Echo and Fire TV devices) from $3.99 to $4.99 per month. Other prominent streaming services recently took similar steps, with YouTube’s Premium Family plan — which includes its music subscription service — jumping from $17.99 to $22.99 per month, and Apple Music individual plans climbing from $9.99 to $10.99.

Amazon launched Prime Music with over one million songs, primarily catalog material, in 2014. Two years later, the company rolled out a multi-tiered offering, Amazon Music Unlimited, with many more titles.

“From our perspective, with Prime we helped push the music industry away from the one-size-fits all approach to music streaming, and to go after different customer segments,” Boom told Billboard at the time. “We’re going to grow the market [and add] new customers to streaming with a great way to get into streaming with really low friction.”

In 2020, Amazon said it had “more than 55 million” subscribers across its various listening tiers.

01 Nov 2022

Yusuf/Cat Stevens Signs with WME

WME has signed Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Yusuf/Cat Stevens in all areas.

Yusuf is embarking on a global tour in 2023 and is working on myriad other creative endeavors, including a new album that will mark his first set of new music since 2017’s Grammy-nominated The Laughing Apple.

Over the last few years, Yusuf has focused on revisiting his catalog as projects reach their 50th anniversary. In 2020, he released a re-recorded version of 1970’s Tea for the Tillerman as Tea for The Tillerman 2 and put out a boxset heralding the album, which includes his breakthrough U.S. hit, “Wild World.” Following the release of 50th-anniversary boxsets for Mona Bone Jakon and Teaser and the Firecat, a newly remastered 50th-anniversary edition of his 1972 album, Catch Bull at Four, will come out in December. 

Last year, Yusuf, who is managed by his son, Yoriyos Adamos, landed on the New York Times’ Best Seller list with his children’s book Yusef’s Peace Train; he is also finishing work on his autobiography. As he told Billboard in a 2020 interview, with his book, “I’m trying to fill in the gap for so many people who almost have a mythological view of me so I’m trying to clarify who I am and how it happened. I’ve been illustrating [the book] as well.” 

As Yusuf told Billboard in the same interview, the same quest has guided his musical exploration — and life — from early on. “When I started looking up at the sky from very early on, one of my biggest questions was where does the sky end? It was a metaphysical question I had from a young age,” he says. “And that’s been my task and my mission: to go explore the universe to find out where it’s leading to.”

01 Nov 2022

Katy Perry, Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett Among Newly-Added 2022 CMA Awards Performers

More performers have been added to the upcoming 56th annual CMA Awards, set to air Nov. 9 on ABC (and available the following day on Hulu).

Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, Luke Combs, Caylee Hammack, Cody Johnson, Elle King, Patty Loveless, Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire, John Osborne, Katy Perry, Pillbox Patti, Chris Stapleton, Cole Swindell, The Black Keys, The War and Treaty, and Thomas Rhett have all been added to the performer lineup.

Reigning CMA entertainer of the year Combs, who is again nominated for the night’s most coveted honor, will perform his single, “The Kind of Love We Make.” Johnson, a four-time nominee heading into the ceremony, will perform his Billboard Country Airplay chart-topping hit “‘Til You Can’t,” while Elle King (who will release the country project Come Get Your Wife in January) will team up with The Black Keys to honor the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame member Jerry Lee Lewis with a rendition of Lewis’ 1957 classic “Great Balls of Fire.”

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Reigning CMA vocal duo of the year Brothers Osborne will team with duo The War and Treaty for a rendition of The Rolling Stones’ 1974 hit “It’s Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It).” Five-time CMA Awards nominee McBryde will be joined by Clark, Hammack, Pillbox Patti and Osborne for a performance of Linda Ronstadt’s 1975 hit “When Will I Be Loved” (itself a cover of The Everly Brothers’ 1960 classic). The song is featured on McBryde’s recent collaborative project, Lindeville.

Two-time CMA Award winner Thomas Rhett and Perry will team up to perform their recently released collaboration, “Where We Started” (the title track to Thomas Rhett’s 2021 album) while Swindell is set to perform his Jo Dee Messina-inspired hit “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.” Stapleton, who is nominated for five CMA honors heading into this year’s ceremony, will be joined by five-time CMA Award winner Loveless for a performance of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.”

These new performers join previously-announced performers Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, HARDY, Marcus King, Miranda Lambert, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, and Zac Brown Band.