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14 Oct 2022

Akademiks Gets Into Physical Altercation With Girlfriend While Yelling ‘I’m The Prize!’

Miami, FL – Akademiks got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend in Miami that went viral this week.

A video that surfaced on Thursday (October 13) showed the media personality in a heated argument with his partner, which reportedly happened after recording an episode of The Fresh and Fit Podcast.

Akademiks (real name Livingston Allen) can be seen shouting aggressively in his girlfriend’s face while holding a Louis Vuitton bag that appears to belong to her. “Respect the game, n-gga!” he screamed. “Stop this shit! I’m the n-gga!”

After his girlfriend attempted to confront a red-haired woman stood behind Akademiks, the Off the Record host shoved her against the wall and continued to yell in her face.

Ak’s girlfriend retaliated by yanking his hat off his head and throwing it away. The former Everyday Struggle star went to retrieve it while declaring: “I’m the prize!”

His girlfriend then swung at the red-haired woman, sparking a scuffle. Akademiks attempted to break up the fight while screaming: “Stop it!” Another woman joined the fray and assisted the red-haired woman in trying to hit Akademiks’ girlfriend.

The clip ends with a group of security guards stepping in and separating the women.

After the footage gained traction on social media, Akademiks jumped into The Shade Room‘s Instagram comments section and shed light on the incident.

The podcaster claimed his girlfriend was “drunk” and being “aggressive” towards the women after they took photos with him at a party.

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T.I. Calls Out Akademiks Over Comments About Lil Wayne’s Daughter

September 26, 2022

“So I gotta type this again… I was breaking up a fight,” he wrote. “My girl was drunk and being aggressive wit other women cuz they were coming up to me in a party taking pics.

“One of the girls swung on her and that’s where this video starts I’m tryna get women to chill out. But they ain’t listening. They fighting over pics n shit.”

That didn’t stop the reactions and jokes from flooding in on social media, though.

“Fighting over Akademiks gotta be scraping the bottom of the dignity barrel,” one person tweeted, while another wrote: “I promise you Akademiks never got in a n-gga face the same way he did to that woman in that video.”

Check out more reactions below.

14 Oct 2022

Ringo Starr Tests Positive for COVID-19 Again, Cancels Tour

Ringo Starr has tested positive for COVID-19 again. The musician revealed his diagnosis late on Thursday (Oct. 13), and announced that he’s canceling the remainder of his tour.

“I’m sure you’ll be as surprised as I was I tested positive again for Covid the rest of the tour is off I send you peace and love Ringo,” he wrote in an Instagram post alongside a selfie.

The 82-year-old and his All Starr Band’s remaining shows were Oct. 14 in San Jose, Calif.; Oct. 15 in Paso Robles, Calif.; Oct. 16 in Los Angeles; and Oct. 19-20 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Starr initially tested positive earlier in the month, and announced Oct. 3 that he was canceling five shows in Canada. That announcement came after he had canceled a pair of concerts “due to illness.” A week later, on Oct. 10, he shared on Instagram that had tested negative for the coronavirus and was ready to get back to work. “On the road again I will see you in Seattle on Tuesday the 11th Portland Wednesday I am negative peace and love everybody thanks for waiting,” he wrote at the time.

The second leg of the nine-time Grammy winner’s All Starr Band tour kicked off September in Bridgeport, Conn. The tour dates were initially planned for 2020, but when the global coronavirus pandemic hit, the former Beatle’s tour — like many musicians’ around the world — was postponed.

Since touring has resumed, various musicians have had to cancel or postpone shows as they and/or their touring crew contracted COVID-19 while on the road. Drake, The Rolling Stones, Alan Jackson, and Justin Bieber are among those who have delayed shows after testing positive for COVID-19.

See Ringo Starr’s latest announcement below:

14 Oct 2022

Betty Who Is Larger Than Life & Ready to Open Up Her World on ‘BIG!’: ‘I’m Allowing Myself to Be Seen’

Betty Who is an undeniably big presence. As a woman standing at 6’2”, the 29-year-old Sydney, Australia native has spent a lifetime knowing she’ll inevitably draw attention any time she enters a room. And this phenomenon holds true as she walks into New York social club Ludlow House on a rainy Wednesday on the Lower East Side.

Over the last decade, Betty’s height has also become an elemental characteristic to her brand — that of an Amazonian pop force she describes as “sixty percent lesbian singer-songwriter, forty percent Britney Spears superfan.” On stage, she entrances as a statuesque blonde who’s become a regular on the Pride circuit and a must-see performer for pop obsessives known for her energetic, dance-heavy show, replete with muscled backup dancers, costume changes and unabashed celebrations of queer joy. 

However, as she curls up on one of the exclusive social club’s lush, velveteen couches, Betty isn’t dressed to put on a show. Instead, she’s decidedly casual for the day, layering a cozy red sweater on top of a loose, white button-down and black slacks. Pairing a single strand of pearls with a blue trucker hat emblazoned with an oil and gas company’s logo, the whole look projects effortless, gender-neutral cool.

Betty, who was born Jessica Newham, is in New York for just one day to discuss her new album – the appropriately exclamatory BIG!, which arrives Friday (Oct. 14) via BMG – as well as her newly discovered mission as an artist. “Why am I here?” she asks rhetorically. “I think it’s to provide community and try to wipe out the feeling of aloneness and otherness that so many people have when they’re not seeing themselves reflected back.”

When it comes to feeling uniquely isolated, her height and gender naturally play into the equation. “I have had that experience so singularly and specifically being a very tall woman,” she says. “But also, like, so many people feel exactly the same way about themselves that I do. Mine happens to be my height. Other people’s is about their hair. Or their weight. Or their feet… So now if I’m put in a power position to be like, ‘Look! I’m queer, I’m different and I made it here because I embraced it as opposed to ran away from it for a decade,’ I guess that’s what I’m trying to manifest.”

A key part of bringing that newfound goal to fruition meant reaching another level of vulnerability in her music. Take BIG’s title track: a tender, diaristic centerpiece on which she boldly proclaims, “If legends are loud and built to stand out, guess that’s who I’m meant to be/ Ten feet tall and I’m proud of it/ You can’t make me smaller, you’ll never make me fit/ ‘Cause baby I was born to be big” over smoldering synths, blazing guitars and the crash of gargantuan drums.

From the beginning of her career, Betty’s music has always been rooted firmly in the sounds and styles of modern pop. As a student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, she obsessively studied Billboard 200 chart-toppers like Spears’ Femme Fatale and Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream alongside erstwhile producer Peter Thomas as a kind of blueprint to follow on her 2014 debut Take Me When You Go. But after creatively parting ways with Thomas after three albums and enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an entirely different sort of artist who made her stop and reevaluate her musical vision in late 2020. 

“I had a moment driving back from Michigan to L.A., my mom and I did a road trip. Driving. Cooked. Long, long three days,” she reflects. “And we were listening to [Kacey Musgraves’] Golden Hour. It was before Star-Crossed came out…listening to the song “Mother” with my mom. And so she starts crying and I, like, almost had to pull over ’cause [then] I’m crying. 

“And I was like, ‘I think this is the thing I wanna do: have feelings and share them and impact people,” Betty continues. “I don’t think it’s about the wig that I’m wearing on stage.’ Whoa. Who knew? Not me…I had my priorities really mixed up for a long time.” That emotional revelation courtesy of Musgraves led to Who holing up in a cabin in Park City, Utah for two solid weeks with her three co-producers, including Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson, to create the album that would eventually become BIG. And instead of taking sonic cues from pop princesses of the 2000s and 2010s, Who found inspiration from a completely different set of references, like ‘80s rockers Kenny Loggins and Journey. 

“There’s a lot of testosterone in the music,” she says. “Which is what I wanted. Some of the music that I care the most about is that, like, kind of intense, super coked-out ’80s sound, so overtly heterosexual that it is inherently the gayest thing ever. That’s one of my favorite sub-sects of culture.”

Instructing her co-producers to “think of me as a gay man instead of a queer woman,” the unique approach harnessed a completely new, masculine kind of queer energy in Betty’s songwriting, and even challenged the singer’s perception of her own gender expression by the time the record was complete. While she insists she feels entirely comfortable and authentic using she/her pronouns, songs like album highlight “I Can Be Your Man” — a slinky kiss-off which finds her helping a friend through a breakup by coyly taking the place of her now-ex-boyfriend — helped move her along a path to reject traditional precepts of femininity, ones she so often felt both bound to and stifled by as a female pop star. 

“I was just like, ‘Oh, I actually just have to stop subscribing to a bunch of the stuff that I thought I had to be as a woman, and figure out what that means for me,’” she says. “And a lot of it is pulling away from femininity and exploring my masculine side. And then that’s allowing me to come full circle back to my divine feminine sensuality – sexuality stuff that has made me a lot more clear about what that is and what’s really powerful in me about that. But I definitely live outside of the binary of gender, that’s for sure.”

As a body of work, no pun intended, BIG! is also a particularly marked departure from Who’s last album, 2019’s Betty. And though that LP bears the singer’s name, she says it now represents something like a time capsule — one of a particularly difficult chapter in her life after being dropped by RCA Records in 2017. “I was in so much pain when I made that record,” Who says of Betty. “I was pretty in survival mode. And also very in a desperate attempt to prove myself to everybody else. All I probably did was prove myself to myself, that I could make a record without the help of a label.”

However, when she looks back at Betty with the benefit of hindsight, the singer admits the project’s 13-song tracklist, which includes fan favorite tracks like “Ignore Me,” “Do With It” and “The One, feels varied to the point of incohesion. “I think when I listen to it now, I hear all the different wigs I’m trying on, you know what I mean?” she offers. “Of course they’re all different aspects of my personality…But to then try and tie them all together with a short little skirt and a microphone on stage, I look back at her and I literally do not recognize her from where I’m sitting now.”

It’s by design — albeit also somewhat ironic — that BIG! feels, in many ways, more intimate and personal than its independently released, self-titled predecessor. This summer, the album roll-out for the record began with lead single “Blow Out My Candle,” a triumphant anthem that finds Betty fearlessly confronting her critics and non-believers. She insisted the track be the starting point of the album’s overall narrative, and had a particular statement to make in the accompanying music video – choosing a utilitarian leotard and bright track jacket as her only wardrobe pieces, as she belts out, “I won’t stop runnin’ down that road/ I’ll keep dancin’ till I die/ You can blow out my candle/ But you’ll never put out my fire.”

“I’m really trying to get very realistic and self-aware,” she says months after the visual dropped. “And the ‘Blow Out My Candle’ video was a really big part of that, where I was like, ‘I’m gonna be in a leotard, but it’s not because I’m giving sexy kitten. I’m giving, like, ‘Here’s my body. Here’s my face. Here’s all of it in 360. I’m not hiding behind stuff or at an angle that makes me look thinner than I am. This is me.’”

The wistful “She Can Dance” — a kind of autobiographical elder sister to the LP’s title track — soon followed, though Who describes her feelings about the song as “tumultuous,” despite it being the label’s favorite track on the album altogether.

“I wanted to write a brand statement [for the album],” Betty says of “She Can Dance” – though in the process she inadvertently ended up essentially putting her life story to music. And with lyrics like, “Couple records come and gone/ Never thought it’d take this long/ Sometimes I wonder who the hell I’m foolin’/ Got no trophies on the shelf/ Record deal went straight to hell/ I swear to God, I don’t know what I’m doin’,” it’s easy to see why the song would leave her feeling exposed. 

Yet Betty’s commitment to radical authenticity — in both her music and her personal identity — remains immutable and bigger than ever, no matter how many growing pains or as yet unforeseen obstacles remain in front of her. 

“I’m allowing myself to be seen,” she says. “It feels like the journey to BIG has been gruesome. It’s like that shedding of snake skin. It’s not, like, painless in the middle of the night for me. It’s like the Hulk ripping off clothes, like, fully screaming as I’m becoming my final form.”

Stream Betty Who’s BIG in full below.

14 Oct 2022

Grupo Marca Registrada’s Label Teams With Interscope to ‘Power’ the Group’s Music

Interscope Records has announced a partnership with RB Music, the regional Mexican indie label that’s home to Grupo Marca Registrada.

According to both companies, the alliance is an effort to “power” both the catalog and new music of the norteño-sierreño group that hails from Sinaloa. The first release under the venture is Marca’s new single “Puro Campeón,” a collab with corridos singer-songwriter Luis R. Conríquez that released on Friday (Oct. 14).

“From afar, I’ve admired what Ricardo Bobadilla and the entire RB Music team have done over the past few years,” says Nir Seroussi, executive vp at Interscope Records. “Their impact with Grupo Marca Registrada is game-changing. They catalyzed the group’s evolution from a local favorite to an international contender. Together, we have the collective and combined platform to launch Grupo Marca Registrada into the stratosphere.”

With more than 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, three entries on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart this year (“Si Fuera Facil,” “Solo Me Dejaste” and “El Rescate” with Junior H), Grupo Marca Registrada has carved a lane for itself in regional Mexican collaborating with artists such as Grupo Firme and Gerardo Ortiz.

RB Music CEO/founder Ricardo Bobadilla added, “Music to me is a family business. When we were introduced to Nir and his team there was an instant family-like connection with their knowledge of our business and focus on quality, artistic creativity, and integrity. At RB Music, we have always done things our own way and on our own terms. But I knew I wanted to partner with Nir, as he approaches music with an independent spirit that we at RB Music identify with. In the end, I believe Interscope understands where we want to go and is willing to invest significant time and resources to get us there.”

The partnership between Interscope and RB is the latest example of major labels teaming up with indie regional Mexican labels companies. Most recently, Sony Music Latin teamed up with Rancho Humilde to support Fuerza Régida. Meanwhile, Warner Music Latina signed DannyLux via a partnership with the indie VPS Music.

14 Oct 2022

Executive Turntable: CAA Names Hip-Hop/R&B Touring Co-Head; Bruce Springsteen Archives Appoints ED

Jenna Park Adler was promoted to co-head of CAA‘s global hip-hop/R&B touring group alongside existing head Mark Cheatham. Adler’s clients include Jennifer Lopez, Doja Cat, Charli XCX, Green Day, Chloe x Halle, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deftones and Mark Ronson.

Robert Santelli was named executive director at the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. He will oversee the Springsteen Archives and work to create programs, exhibits and collaborations with music museums and universities in the U.S. Santelli can be reached at bsantell@springsteenarchives.org.

BMG named Brandon Riester vp of A&R, recorded music. In the role, the Los Angeles-based executive will sign and develop artists for the label’s frontline recording team and participate in song development alongside BMG’s songwriters and publishing team. He reports directly to executive vp of recorded music Dan Gill. He was most recently A&R for Nuyorican Records. Riester can be reached at brandon.riester@bmg.com.

Colin Reed, longtime chairman and CEO at Ryman Hospitality Properties, is transitioning to executive chairman of the company after more than 21 years as CEO. Succeeding him in the CEO role is Mark Fioravanti, who will also hold the title of president, effective Jan. 1. Reed’s new role will include his responsibilities as executive chairman of Ryman’s board of directors and as chairman of the Opry Entertainment Group (OEG) board of directors. He will also focus on working with OEG strategic investor Atairos as well as NBCUniversal to exploit opportunities for value creation, advance the company’s ESG and DEI goals and handle community and government affairs. He will also continue his role with artist and shareholder relations alongside Fioravanti.

ASM Global named Liam Thornton as executive vp of strategy and development. In the role, he will be responsible for strategic planning, market research, site selection, lease and partnership negotiations, development feasibility, site planning, project advisory and investment analysis. Thornton can be reached at lthornton@asmglobal.com.

Also at ASM Global, Kimberly Weedmark was named general manager for the Los Angeles Convention Center; she joins the company from Universal Studios Hollywood, where she served as vp of special events and group sales. In her new role, she will work with the City of Los Angeles to continue to grow the convention hall.

Warner Chappell Music promoted Petter Walther Walthinsen to head of A&R for Warner Chappell Music Nordics. In the expanded role, Walthinsen will be responsible for the strategy, direction and culture of the company’s A&R department across the Nordics, with all A&R executives in the region reporting to him. Walthinsen, who will report to the region’s managing director Lars Karlsson, was previously senior A&R manager at Warner Chappell Music Norway.

Lily Golightly was hired as senior vp of publicity at Verve Label Group. She will oversee U.S. communications efforts for the company’s imprints, including Verve Records, Impulse!, Verve Forecast, Decca Records U.S., Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon and ECM. She previously spent over seven years at 300 Entertainment and operated her own independent publicity company, No Big Deal PR, through January 2020.

Andre Rodriguez was hired as Warner Music Latina’s director of commercial operations. In his new role, he will lead commercial operations for the entire Latin American region, and his team of six employees together will work to bridge the gap between the labels’ marketing and production departments to increase efficiency. He will report directly to senior vp of commercial services Marcela Vaccari. Rodriguez previously served as 10K Project’s senior director of production, and in addition to his new role at Warner, he will continue to manage artists under his self-owned company MUSTDIE.

Russell Hunt was hired as senior creative manager at Reservoir Media. Hunt will be based in the company’s London office, working closely with U.K. head of creative Charlie Pinder to expand Reservoir’s global presence. He will report to executive vp and global creative director Donna Caseine. He joins the company from Tigerspring, where he was head of A&R U.K.

Dan McEvoy and Bertie Gibbon joined the team at ATC Management. McEvoy brings client Black Country, New Road, while Gibbon will oversee the careers of new ATC clients Sorry, The Goa Express and Miss Tiny. McEvoy can be reached at dan@atcmanagement.com and Gibbon can be reached at matthew@atcmanagement.com.

Nashville-based publishing company SoNash launched and announced its executive team: president Travis Chaney, vp Bridgette Tatum, creative director Abigail Wate Ayala and creative consultant Juli Newton-Griffith. Wate Ayala can be reached at Abigail@sonashpublishing.com and Tatum can be reached at bridgette@sonashpublishing.com.

Music technology platform Vydia hired Susan “Sweetness” Ybern and Elena Lanza as label & artist relations managers. Both will play a crucial role in the company’s new business growth, marketing and strategy with artists and labels. They will be responsible for sourcing, negotiating and signing new partnerships deals while working collaboratively across the marketing, legal, client success and product management departments. Ybern can be reached at sweetness@vydia.com and Lanza can be reached at elena.lanza@vydia.com.

Alison Hemmings joined Audible as associate director of public relations. Most recently she worked on the communications team at iHeartMedia, leading publicity and media strategy for the iHeartPodcast Network.

SMACKTok, which offers influencer marketing services under the SMACK umbrella, hired Aleks Samul as coordinator. She will report directly to SMACK founder Marissa Turk and assist in day-to-day operations for the company. Samul can be reached at aleks@smacksongs.com.

Nashville-based marketing agency Thinkswell — which helps artists establish themselves as brands and assists brands in reaching new audiences — hired James Crowley as head of strategy, Jenni Hand as head of operations, Katie Sulzner as digital marketing manager and Nicole Marchesi as digital marketing manager. Michael Adcock was also promoted to art director. Crowley will use data analytics to build a comprehensive digital advertising and social media strategy for clients; Hand will manage campaigns, organizational structure and lead all efforts for artists and organizations; Sulzner will create high level strategic campaigns; Marchesi will execute marketing camapaigns and create video and graphic design content for clients; and Adcock will oversees all creative direction and brand development at the company. Crowley can be reached at James@thinkswell.com, Hand can be reached at jenni@thinkswell.com, Sulzner can be reached at katie@thinkswell.com, Marchesi can be reached at nicole@thinkswell.com and Adcock can be reached at michael@thinkswell.com.

14 Oct 2022

Nicki Minaj & Latto Drag Each Other On Twitter While Exposing DMs & Phone Calls

Nicki Minaj and Latto became embroiled in a heated Twitter spat on Thursday night (October 13) in which both rappers traded personal attacks and unearthed private conversations.

The feud began when Nicki Minaj’s Rick James-sampling “Super Freaky Girl” was denied eligibility in the rap categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards and instead put forward for Best Pop Solo Performance by the Recording Academy, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Nicki voiced her displeasure with the decision on social media and argued Latto’s “Big Energy,” which also leans heavily on an ’80s pop sample, should compete in the pop categories as well.

“I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY,” the Queen rapper tweeted. “If [‘Super Freaky Girl’] has [2 billion views] moved out RAP then so does Big Energy! ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater or a troll. I’d actually LUV 2 c a more street record win- male OR female! IJS rightIsRight.”

Nicki Minaj also brought attention to a tweet pointing out that MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” which also sampled Rick James’ “Super Freak,” was nominated in multiple rap categories at the 1991 Grammys.

Latto seemingly responded to Nicki’s complaint by tweeting: “Damn I can’t win for losing… all these awards/noms I can’t even celebrate.” Earlier on Thursday, she received multiple nominations at the 2022 American Music Awards.

From there, things escalated into a messy — and more direct — back-and-forth laced with insults, accusations and below-the-belt shots, as well as DMs and phone conversations broadcast on social media.

“This Karen has probably mentioned my name in over 100 interviews. She waited in line for Pink Friday w|her Barbie chain on, bangs, pink hair,” Nicki Minaj fired back. “but today, scratch off decides to be silent; rather than speak up for the black woman she called her biggest inspiration.”

She also shared what appeared to be a DM from Latto in response to her Grammys complaint that read: “I agree w you however because of where we left off ion think u need to bring my name/song up to prove ur point,” referencing a recent phone call between the two of them.

Latto directly responded to Nicki Minaj’s tweet and called her out for her “ongoing subtweets” while branding her a “bully” who’s “older than my mom.”

“1st of all I texted u cause I didn’t wanna do the internet sht w sum1 I looked up to,” she wrote. “Just like the 1st time I DMed u asking about ur ongoing subtweets. I wanted to speak up cuz like I said I do agree but the way u going about it seems malicious esp. after how we left off.”

She added: “I’ve ignored countless subtweets since March and instead addressed u in the dm. You’re asking why I didn’t speak up in ur defense… it’s the same answer I gave u when u asked why I didn’t congratulate you. Ur literally older than my mom tryna be a bully @NICKIMINAJ.”

The 23-year-old then pulled out “the most recent subtweet in question,” sharing a since-deleted tweet from Nicki Minaj from earlier this month that read: “Unfollowed. Ugh barbz I just said stop putting that dud on my timeline. I know ur defending me but leave the dud on tiktok. Lemme think #DUDSponDiTimelineBarbz.”

Nicki Minaj denied she was talking about Latto and claimed the Atlanta rapper is upset because she turned down multiple feature requests from her.

“it was an actual person ON tiktok. A creator. Not even an artist. I’m sure the Barbz have receipts,” Nicki tweeted. “It goes to show she made up these ‘subtweets’ in her head simply b/c she sent me 2 songs I declined to do features on. They all do this.”

Nicki Minaj then addressed Latto’s “40-year-old bully” barb my mocking her appearance, as well as her album sales.

“Age shaming when you look like YOU the one pushing 40,” she snapped. “Age shaming but was BEGGING for a feature. Imagine what dem genes gon do in 10 years[.] Oh so you in your 20’s. Oh ok then. At least it match your album sales. You sold 20K right? Mad u flopped. That’s why u rlly mad.

“Who wanna hear the reference tracks scratch off ghost writers rapping her bars????? she used me & the Barbz in every interview until that album sold double wood[.] now she wiping that spray tan off & being a Karen. They black when it’s beneficial chi.”

Latto continued to pull out receipts of Nicki Minaj’s alleged subtweets, including a tweet from September that read: “When you hear ppl comparing themselves to you but the fakks don’t ever seem to be in their favor. memba what I told y’all about 2022? Chiiiiii. Same as what who?”

“Ok first…This is from when I teased Big Energy Remix. You didn’t deny subtweeting me otp???” Latto asked. “I’m confused. Peep ‘not again’ because she thinks I was ‘using her fans’ for simply teasing my ‘Wheelie’ ft & then the BE remix ft.”

She added: “Now all of a sudden u seen all the love I showed you but chose to respond to a clip taken out of context…Literally fishing for a reason to backup being a bully.”

The clip in question was from Latto’s interview with Hollywood Unlocked in March, during which she observed that there are significantly more female rappers “thriving right now” compared to years ago when it was “Nicki and everybody else.”

Her comments seemingly got under the skin of Nicki Minaj, who, as one fan pointed out, ranted about an unnamed female rapper on her Queen Radio show.

“A lot of other people come in one day, and the next day you’re trying to categorize yourself with people who’ve been fucking working and putting their blood, sweat and tears in this shit for 15 and 20 muthafucking years?” Nicki said at the time.

“And then that album come out and you can clearly see you haven’t built up a loyal fanbase yet who actually likes your fucking music? And then what they start doing is, they start digging the whole deeper for themselves.”

Latto brought up Nicki’s remarks by tweeting: “This lady so meticulous w her shade so she can twist it later and act like it wasn’t about you. Stand on that shit.”

Nicki Minaj dug deeper into her DM history with Latto, unearthing a conversation from July 2021 in which the 777 hitmaker sent her a song in hopes of landing a feature.

“Now pay attention. every dm from scratch off is about a feature,” Nicki tweeted. “I was kind everytime. But scratch off feels she has pull behind the scenes w|a few diff white men (won’t name right now) Now look @ my next tweet to see the very next messages she sent me after I declined 3 features.”

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Latto’s ‘Big Energy’ Puts Her In Rare Company With Nicki Minaj, Cardi B + Lauryn Hill

April 7, 2022

Nicki Minaj declined Latto’s request telling her: “I think you came off on the song but I don’t hear myself on it.” Latto replied: “I respect it!” before trying her luck again. “Is there a specific direction u looking for?” she asked. “I had a couple in mind but just sent my fav first.”

Nicki explained she wasn’t interested in jumping on a “real explicit record” and would only entertain a collaboration if the song had already built momentum on its own. Latto circled back in February and asked Nicki Minaj if she’d be interested in doing a remix of “Big Energy,” which was making waves on radio and the charts.

“Look @ how this Karen makes up fake beef in a passive aggressive attempt to show her frustration about me politely declining 3 feature requests,” Nicki snapped in a follow-up tweet. “Scratch off is just an entitled Karen who blames others for her album flopping. betta stop it scratch off.”

Latto responded by sharing a DM exchange from September where she respectfully questioned Nicki Minaj about her alleged subtweets. “I’ve shown u nothing but the utmost respect & genuine love as a FAN & someone who looked up to you,” she wrote at the time. “I’m tryna figure out what happened like what changed?”

Nicki replied: “You’ve shown me too much genuine love for what? To be exempt from something? I could say the same thing. But would you or big foot care? No … I don’t talk in circles and & I don’t get questioned,” seemingly referring to Megan Thee Stallion.

“We see everything. Trust. It’s clear as day,” she continued. “Did you think I got to where I am by not peeping everything? Do you think I don’t know every release schedule at every record label? Did you think I don’t know how many things move up on the list as soon as I say I’m about to do something? Lol.”

The conversation ended with the pair agreeing to talk on the phone, during which Nicki allegedly told Latto she’s “not flourishing and no one cares about [her] little song.”

Latto’s anger grew as she labeled Nicki Minaj a “super freaky grandma” and claimed she’s “related to fucking rapists” while providing more evidence of her alleged subtweets. (Nicki’s brother is serving 25 years to life in prison for raping an 11-year-old girl, while her husband was convicted of attempted rape in 1995.)

“I’ll die on this hill by myself!” she proclaimed. “Everybody ain’t lying on you! We see the pattern! BFFR!”

Nicki Minaj doubled down on her argument that Latto’s anger stems from her feature requests being rejected, while reminding her younger counterpart that she has never trashed her own idol, Lauryn Hill, despite never working with her.

“notice a pattern? Oh ok. U only get called old when you pass on their features,” Nicki wrote. “i ain’t never diss my idols for not giving me a feature. I bowed to lauryn hill feet when I met her. Feature or no feature. Should I call her old now? She a grandmother & still out rapping you.”

Nicki then addressed Latto’s rape remarks, bringing up the Atlanta native’s collaborations with Kodak Black (“Bussdown”) and pop producer Dr. Luke (“Big Energy”), both of whom have been accused of sexual assault.

“1. Didn’t care about rape when she was begging for features,” she retorted. “2. Didn’t care about Kodak’s past 3. Didn’t care about the accusations made about Dr. Luke who produced Big Energy 4. News Flash scratch off. I’ve never raped anyone. I’ve inspired millions. You’re one of them BOZO.”

Nicki added: Y’all keep letting these bozos weaponize the WORD rape when they’re being dragged & not holding them accountable for not actually CARING about rape victims in REAL LIFE. They have the same 2 drags about me & one of them ain’t eem bout me. That’s how you know when you dat btch.”

Nicki Minaj delved deeper into Latto’s own family history, sharing a tweet from a fan claiming the rapper’s father was “roughly in his late 30s” when she was born, while her mother would’ve been “16 or 17.”

“Scratch off getcho dumb ass to the mic[.] RIGHT NOW!!!!!” Nicki commanded. “Explain this shit!!!!! Since you just became a rape activist in the last 5 minutes hoe you BETTA HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS SHIT!!!!! RIGHT TF NOW!!!!! this BETTA be a typo.”

Latto didn’t address her parents’ supposed age gap, but she did turn her attention to Nicki Minaj’s aforementioned “reference tracks” tweet and accused the Young Money superstar of also relying on ghostwriters.

“I’ll post em my got damn self. They’ll all tell u I WRITE TOO!” she wrote. “I heard a few of ur refs before they came out too boo. U forgot WE ALL collab w the same writers?? Difference is I don’t deny it. The world seen me writing since 16 on national TV tho.”

Just when it looked like the feud had cooled off, Latto returned hours later to post audio clips of a recent phone call between herself and Nicki Minaj.

The heated conversation found Nicki calling Latto “delusional” for her Hollywood Unlocked comments and told her: “I’ma have somebody send you the information about all the women in the last 10 years who have had Billboard recognition, worldwide global recognition since you are clearly putting yourself above these people.”

Latto accused Nicki of “purposely” misconstruing her remarks before clarifying her original statement. “What I’m saying is it was you running shit for a long time. I never said that you’re no longer running shit,” she explained. “I said that there are other females flourishing. What is the problem with that?”

The conversation ended with Nicki warning Latto: “If people around you cared about you, they would’ve told you, ‘That’s not going to benefit you.’” Latto asked: “What’s not going to benefit me?” After a long pause, Nicki replied: “Lemme go. I have to do a Zoom. I’ll hit you back. Thank you” before hanging up the phone.

“Lemme specify I’m sorry. Im delusional for saying ‘we’re’ (newer female rappers) are flourishing & u said no one cares about my little song LYRICS my bad,” Latto tweeted while sharing the audio. “FYI I only recorded cause I KNOW who tf I’m playing wit #40yroldbully.”

14 Oct 2022

Japanese Label Avex Is Taking a Page From K-Pop’s Playbook to Crack the U.S. Market

Japanese record labels historically haven’t felt the need to venture beyond their country’s shores to boost revenue. Japan’s recorded music market, the second largest in the world, has been big enough to sustain companies like Tokyo-based Avex Inc., considered a fourth major label in Japan.

But a rapid market shift in Japan — along with South Korea’s surge onto the global scene with K-pop —have created new impetus for Japanese music companies to try to penetrate the toughest of markets: the United States. 

Last year, Japan’s sales of physical CDs and vinyl still made up 68% of the 283.2-billion-yen ($2.46 billion) recorded music market. But digital sales jumped 14% to 89.5 billion yen ($624 million) — the fourth-consecutive year of double-digit growth in the category, which is now 83% streaming, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

Avex, an entertainment conglomerate founded in 1988, has developed legendary J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro, and forged a live-music partnership with AEG Presents to co-promote artists in Japan. But it has struggled to create new superstars, or to successfully expand to the U.S. and China. 

A 2016 effort to set up a U.S. operation fizzled after about two years. Now Avex is trying again. This time, the brass in Tokyo have turned to Naoki Osada, an 18-year company veteran with an M.B.A. from UCLA, a passion for West Coast hip-hop and several years of familiarity with the U.S. music business. 

The new entity, which features a publishing arm, a record label and an investment fund, is based in Los Angeles, where Osada holds sway at the Avex House, a recording studio and artist-producer hangout, which has an infinity pool and a rooftop deck with 360-degree views of West Hollywood. During the pandemic, Osada oversaw extensive renovations to the five-bedroom house, which the company says it is renting. 

“One of the reasons why we weren’t successful in our past endeavors to expand into China and the U.S. was that we didn’t have a clear mission, an agenda that we shared across the entire company,” Katsumi Kuroiwa, Avex’s CEO, tells Billboard from Tokyo, adding “we weren’t able to pick the right person to expand the business outside of Japan.”

This time Kuroiwa believes the company has gotten it right — and he has given Osada, who serves as president of Avex USA, a longer runway: five years to make the U.S. entity a success. 

Avex House, Naoki Osada

Naoki Osada the Japanese exec is leading the project/entity Avex USA.

Caity Krone

Avex started its latest U.S. effort with publishing. The initial focus is on building U.S. intellectual property with U.S. and Canadian songwriters through songs that can be placed with U.S. pop stars like Justin Bieber, and Japanese – and even Korean – artists. Osada created a publishing joint venture with Brandon Silverstein, manager of Normani and Brazilian star Anitta. Silverstein was looking for financial backing for his S10 Publishing and says he bonded with Osada over his vision to make the Avex House into a creative hub. Osada also hired Lucas Thomashow, 29, a Google-trained data and social media marketing specialist, to run Avex USA’s new label, SELENE, which is named after a Japanese spaceprobe that orbited the moon in 2007. 

Avex has 13 writers on its U.S. roster, including six signed jointly with S10 Publishing: HARV, who co-wrote Bieber’s hit song “Peaches” (before S10 signed him); Jamaican dancehall artist Shenseea, who shared the stage with Anitta in Las Vegas during the Billboard Music Awards week; Cxdy (Internet Money), who works with The Kid Laroi; Toronto-born David Arkwright, who co-wrote “Build a Bitch” with Bella Poarch; Belizean artist Kosa; and Declan Hoy.

One challenge is working both globally and locally. “There’s that double edged sword where we’re always thinking strategically about how to bridge that gap [between Asia and the U.S.], because there’s a lot of cross over,” Thomashow, Avex USA’s senior vp, tells Billboard, sitting with Osada by the Avex House pool one morning. “And that’s whether it’s our U.S. writers and producers putting together hits for some of the biggest Japanese or Chinese artists, or how do we think strategically about Japanese artists.”

In one of the publishing arm’s biggest overseas successes, Arkwright and J. Que co-wrote a debut single for Japanese-American singer CAELAN (real name: Caelan Moriarty), “Forever With You,” which went viral with CAELAN’s sprawling Asian social-media fanbase, hitting No. 1 in China on the Weibo Asia New Songs Monthly ranking in September of 2021.

SELENE, meanwhile, has signed five artists so far, notably Austin George and 19-year-old singer-songwriter Sadie Jean, who had a TikTok open verse challenge hit with “WYD Now,” which counts over 200 million aggregate world-wide streams across all DSPs (she has more than 88 million on Spotify). The label says Zach Hood’s three singles on SELENE have generated more than 150 million aggregate streams. Sophie Holohan’s “Butterfly Effect” has 120 million hashtag views on TikTok, and the artist has more than 322,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. In finding rapid streaming success for newer artists, the label, says Arkwright, “is doing something that major labels, in my opinion, kind of wish that they could do with that kind of efficacy.”

(Sadie Jean is the only SELENE artist with any Billboard chart history. She spent seven weeks on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, peaking at No. 35 on the Dec. 25, 2021-dated chart. “WYD Now” spent a week at No. 91 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.)

Avex House, Lucas Thomashow

Lucas Thomashow the American exec leading the new U.S. based Avex label, SELENE.

Caity Krone

Silverstein has built a relationship with Avex founder and chairman Masato “Max” Matsuura back in Japan, but credits Osada for the initial progress out of Los Angeles. “We’ve gotten our successes based on [Osada’s] support from Japan, given the writers that we’ve signed,” he says.

Osada, who was previously in charge of corporate venture capital for Avex back in Tokyo, also oversees Avex USA’s Future of Music Investment Fund, which has $25 million to spend on seed and Series A startups, mostly music-tech companies like WaveXR, a VR music platform that created Bieber’s 2021 avatar concert. (The fund has also attracted investment from Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun.) He sees his Avex USA role as “half investor, half music executive.”  

Trying to Catch The Koreans 

While Avex executives say they don’t see the Korean labels as direct competitors, they nevertheless want to emulate their formula for success. With a much smaller domestic market than Japan, the Korean music industry naturally had to look outside for growth, which led acts to work harder to create global fanbases. “The Korean companies are at this stage more superior and advanced in terms of breaking global artists,” says Kuroiwa. “Unfortunately, Japanese artists haven’t been able to gain fans around the world like South Korea…and that’s where we have to learn.”

The Koreans labels have also been making moves in the U.S. over the past few years. JYP Entertainment and HYBE, home to BTS, have set up offices and entities in Los Angeles, and even created joint-venture labels like HYBE’s imprint with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records, which plans to launch a girl group together.

Back in 2014, Avex surprised the industry when it beat out Sony Music for the largest mid-year share of the recorded music market in Japan at 16.1%, according to the Soundscan Japan. More recently, however, Avex held an 8.6% share of the Japanese market in 2019, placing them in third place behind Sony and Universal Japan. The Japanese company’s total assets have been declining in value for four straight years, according to company filings.

Among its challenges, sales of the company’s biggest J-pop artists, Hamasaki and Koda Kumi, peaked more than a decade ago. “We’re in the middle of trying to create a next generation of artists,” says Kuroiwa.

The pandemic also hit the company hard. Avex recorded a net loss of 1.1 billion yen ($10 million) in fiscal 2020, which led Avex to downsize staff and sell its 18-story Tokyo headquarters. The sale price of more than 70 billion yen (more than $673 million in late 2020) generated a profit of 29 billion yen ($279 million), a company spokesperson says.

Sales rose 20.7% to 98.4 billion yen ($686 million) in fiscal 2022, while net income fell 92.8% to nine billion yen ($62.7 million). The income drop-off followed a surge in net income to 128 billion yen ($892.6 million) in 2021, which related to the sale of the building.

Escaping the Past

Avex’s previous foray into the U.S., in 2016, involved Universal Music Japan executive Kimi Kato, former Warner Chappell Music Chairman and CEO Richard Blackstone and Avex executive Ryuhei Chiba. The trio spent about $30 million buying content, including a worldwide publishing deal for a Bruno Mars album, two people familiar with the matter tell Billboard. Matsuura, upset the group had blown through so much money, rallied the board to fire Chiba and then shut down the U.S. entity, the sources say. (A spokesperson for Avex says the $30 million was not restricted to buying content and noted that “the strategy in the U.S. didn’t change because Matsuura got angry, but Avex did decide to change its approach in the U.S. to [a] lean startup model.”)

Osada says the previous team was “trying to do too much at the same time,” including bringing U.S. artists to Japan and launching local businesses. “At that time the company was more about aiming for support to the headquarters’ [Japanese] artists,” he says. “We had a dream, but we didn’t actually try seriously to be successful as a U.S. company. I was like, ‘Why don’t we try to expand the business here because that eventually supports the global operation of Avex?’”

Osada, who started at the company in 2004 as a newly minted J-pop A&R manager fresh out of college, had a front-row seat on the legendary tussle between Matsuura and Tom Yoda, Avex’s co-founder. Yoda wanted to expand Avex into other entertainment-related ventures, including movie production. He accused Chiba, then the company’s executive director and president, of pursuing personal profit from some of the label’s biggest artists, according to Japanese media reports.

The Avex board backed Yoda’s bid to get Chiba to resign. Matsuura resigned along with Chiba, who denied any fault. Osada recalls a staff meeting with about 300 people where Chiba and Yoda were screaming at each other from across the auditorium. “I saw the battle [play out] in front of me,” he says. 

But with the support of the staff and artists, including Hamasaki, who said she would leave the label (a declaration that led Avex’s stock price to dip by 16% in one day) – and the threat of bankruptcy looming – Yoda resigned. Matsuura and Chiba later rejoined the company.

A few years later it was Matsuura who gave Osada his instant blessing to study business administration in Los Angeles, at a time when the physical music industry was still in freefall from piracy site Napster. Not only did he avoid the chaotic company restructuring happening back in Tokyo, Osada says he was able to immerse himself in Los Angeles’ music and startup cultures, and inadvertently train himself for his current assignment.

Avex House, Harv

Harv at Avex House

Courtesy Avex

At the Avex House, Osada holds lunch for writers and producers, and his Friday night dinners have drawn an eclectic group of artists and industry types. Thomashow fondly recalls the night Normani‘s cousin cooked authentic New Orleans food for a small group. Events there have drawn the likes of A$AP Rocky and James Blake. Harv hosted Bieber’s “Peaches” release party at the house. (On one evening, Billboard met DJ Richie Hawtin and Dean Wilson, Deadmau5’ manager, along with music executives from Meta.)

The house has also become a magnet for artists, writers, managers and A&R execs to connect and collaborate. Blake, Normani and Anitta have worked on songs there. Arkwright says he’ll sometimes grab an acoustic from the wall of Gibson guitars hanging in the living room and head up to the roof to jam with artists like Austin George, and then pop down to one of the three studios to lay down a track.

“It’s just like this beautiful hang spot that you don’t get very often,” Arkwright says.

Additional Reporting By Rob Schwartz

14 Oct 2022

2022 CMT Artists of the Year: Alan Jackson, Kane Brown, Cody Johnson, Carly Pearce & More Honored

One of country music’s most respected singer-songwriters honoring another of the genre’s most revered singer-songwriters made for a signature moment during the 2022 CMT Artists of the Year ceremony, which airs Friday (Oct. 14) on CMT, and taped the evening of Oct. 12.

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Alan Jackson, who received the artist of a lifetime award, stood center stage at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center and paid tribute to the late Loretta Lynn, who died Oct. 4 at the age of 90.

“There will never be another Loretta Lynn,” he told the crowd, eliciting cheers.

The evening marked a celebration of some of the most successful artists in the genre over the past year. This year’s honorees were Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Walker Hayes, Cody Johnson and Carly Pearce. Additionally, Lainey Wilson was named breakout artist of the year.

Hayes, known for hits like “AA” and the inescapable “Fancy Like,” which spent 24 weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100), teamed with Ciara for a special collaboration of Hayes’ song “Y’all Life.” Kelsea Ballerini and writer-producer Shane McAnally (who works with both Ballerini and Hayes, among many others) recalled first meeting Hayes in a smoothie shop, when Hayes approached him and asked if McAnally would listen to his songs.

Hayes was emotional as he accepted the honor, saying, “The last award I got was in ninth grade for most-improved student.”

With her EP 29 and expanded album 29: Written in Stone, Pearce has turned one of the most challenging and heartbreaking seasons of her life into triumph, crafting the projects following her divorce in 2020 from fellow artist Michael Ray. Pearce has since earned another No. 1 hit with “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” and is the reigning ACM female artist of the year and current CMA female vocalist of the year. Last year, Pearce was also inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, and has been on the road opening shows for Kenny Chesney.

Pearce performed an anguished yet determined rendering of “29,” and later accepted her CMT artists of the year honor by thanking CMT’s senior vp of music and talent Leslie Fram for being a steadfast champion.

“I think about 10 years ago, crying on Leslie Fram’s couch and wondering if I was going to get a break,” she recalled. She encouraged anyone who is struggling with a difficult time, adding, “You can get through and overcome, because I did.” Closing out her speech, she reminded the audience that “country music is my heart,” and quipped, “Divorce never looked so good!”

The evening marked the third CMT artists of the year honor for Luke Combs, who this year earned two CMT Music Awards nominations, as well as a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance for “Forever After All.” He is also set to launch his stadium World Tour, which will visit 16 countries, next year. Though the hitmaker was not in attendance, Riley Green performed Combs’ current Hot 100 top 10 hit “The Kind of Love We Make.”

Wilson wowed the audience with her vocal prowess on “Heart Like a Truck,” which is included on her upcoming album Bell Bottom Country. Over the past year, Wilson has earned two No. 1 hits, “Things a Man Oughta Know” and the Cole Swindell duet “Never Say Never,” and just teamed with HARDY for the dramatic murder ballad “Wait in the Truck.” She is also gearing up for her debut on the hit series Yellowstone in November, and is the most-nominated artist leading into this year’s Country Music Association Awards. At the same time, Wilson has also weathered hard times in recent weeks, as her father has been battling health issues. She happily noted to the audience that he came home from the hospital this week, which drew cheers from the audience.

She noted that she has “come a long way from the camper trailer days,” and noted how much she has always just wanted a chance to be in country music.

The CMT Artists of the Year taping was extra special for Kane and Katelyn Brown, as it fell on the couple’s fourth wedding anniversary. The evening also marked Brown’s third CMT artists of the year recognition.

Brown performed his recent No. 1 hit “Like I Love Country Music,” which includes a reference to “Chattahoochee,” the 1993 hit from lifetime honoree Jackson. The song is included on Brown’s recently released album, Different Man. Over the past year, Brown has continued to add to his arsenal of hit songs and collaborations. In August, Brown became the first male country artist to perform on the MTV VMAs and recently embarked on an international tour with stops in Australia and Europe. “This feels amazing to be recognized,” Brown said, thanking not only his wife, but also his manager Martha Earls and his publishing partner Kent Earls.

Texan Cody Johnson scored one of the year’s biggest hits with “’Til You Can’t,” which reigned atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for two weeks in March. He also picked up two CMT Music Awards earlier this year, including male video of the year and digital-first performance.

Seated on a stool and backed by his own band, Johnson performed his latest single, “Human.” In accepting his trophy from Warner Music Nashville labelmates Dan+Shay, Johnson noted that he has been with his manager Howie Edelman for 11 years, based on a handshake deal.

“I believe in country music… and will give it everything I’ve got,” Johnson said.

Tanya Tucker introduced a segment focused on Lynn, saying, “She guided me through this business. I grew up singing her fightin’, drinkin’, cheatin’ songs… she went from being my hero to my great friend.”

Lynn’s sisters Crystal Gayle and Peggy Sue performed Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter” as the audience stood to its feet and gave an extended ovation. “We had a really good friendship, and I just really appreciated her,” Jackson later told the audience.

As the evening concluded, Jackson thanked CMT for playing his videos over the years, noting that he’s created approximately 60 country music videos during his career. Jackson has also notched 26 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, and 51 top 10 hits.

He recalled his range of music videos, which have included water skiing in boots (“Chattahoochee”), car races and monster trucks.

“I always believed videos were important to music,” he said. “I argued with some record executive a couple times about how important they were back in the ‘90s. I thought people would watch in the background and listen to music, hear your songs, even [during times] when they didn’t hear it on the radio.”

Tribute videos to Jackson from several of the evening’s fellow honorees, as well as one from former President George W. Bush, were played — including a humorous anecdote from Hayes, who said he used to burn CDs of his own songs and throw them into Jackson’s backyard in Nashville, hoping he might hear them.

As it turned out, Brown’s performance of “Like I Love Country Music,” with its reference to “Chattahoochee,” was a foreshadowing of the evening, as Jackson closed out the ceremony. The mood in the room was already festive, but as Jackson strapped on his guitar, that celebration became “hotter than a hoochie coochie.”

“I’ve been really blessed of course with everything, and so thankful for all my fans and all my music and everybody,” he concluded.

14 Oct 2022

Daniel Johns Sets Chart Record as ‘FutureNever’ Returns to No. 1 In Australia

Daniel Johns is back in a familiar place — at No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart.

The ex-Silverchair frontman sets a chart record as FutureNever (BMG/ADA), his third solo album, returns to the summit on the ARIA Chart.

Following its release April 22, FutureNever bowed at No. 3 in Australia, then lifted to No. 1 in its third week.

Now, thanks to its release on vinyl, the album stages another return to the top.

Its 22 weeks between stays at the chart penthouse is the biggest gap for an album by an Australian artist, ARIA reports.

FutureNever, the best-seller on wax this week, earned Johns a nomination for best artist at the 2022 ARIA Awards, announced Wednesday (Oct. 12).

“To have FutureNever go to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart twice in 2022 and spend 6 weeks in the ARIA Top 10 is amazing,” Johns says in a statement as the chart was published late Friday, local time.

“Thank you to the incredible people who worked on this album with me and a very special thank you to everyone who has listened to FutureNever and helped spread the word. For an album with no singles and no music videos, I’m truly grateful that the music is speaking for itself.”

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Johns’ album also lends its name to the veteran rocker’s not-for-profit FutureNeverFund, which announced it would work closely with EquiEnergy Youth, a Newcastle, Australia-based charity dedicated to helping communities reduce instances of mental health distress, self-harm and suicide risk in young people, an alliance that coincides with Mental Health Month.

FutureNever is Johns’ first solo leader in Australia, and sixth in total, including all five of Silverchair’s studio LPs, from Frogstomp through to Young Modern, a feat no other band can match.

Meanwhile, a pair of new releases impact the ARIA top five, led by Stray Kids’ Maxident (ING), new at No. 4, a debut that easily eclipses the K-pop band’s previous chart peak, No. 14 for 2021’s Noeasy.

Close behind is Charlie Puth’s Charlie (Atlantic/Warner), which debuts at No. 5, for the U.S. pop singer’s third ARIA top 10.

Beyonce’s Renaissance (Columbia/Sony) roars back into the top 10, up 29-7, following its own release on vinyl. Over on the national singles chart, “Cuff It” becomes the second Renaissance single to crash the top 10, lifting 16-8 after going viral on TikTok.

There’s no change at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart, as Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (Capitol/EMI) holds at No. 1, ahead of David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Warner) and OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” (Interscope/Universal), respectively.

The highest debut on the latest singles chart, published Oct. 14, is Ed Sheeran’s ”Celestial” (Atlantic/Warner), new at No. 37. Sheeran’s latest top 40 hit will appear on the Pokémon “Scarlet” and ”Violet” games, set to rollout Nov. 18 on the Nintendo Switch.