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Kanye West’s Yeezy Company Dropped By JPMorgan Chase

Investment bank JPMorgan Chase has severed ties with embattled rapper Kanye West. The news was broken by conservative commentator Candace Owens, who tweeted on Wednesday (Oct. 12), “Earlier today I learned that @kanyewest was officially kicked out of JP Morgan Chase bank. I was told there was no official reason given, but they sent this letter as well to confirm that he has until late November to find another place for the Yeezy empire to bank.”

The text of the undated letter posted by Owens opens with an acknowledgment that per a “recent discussion,” the largest bank in the U.S. “has decided to end its banking relationship with Yeezy, LLC and its affiliated entities,” noting that the rapper was encouraged to transfer his business to another financial institution before Nov. 21.

A spokesperson for Chase declined to comment at press time, though Billboard has confirmed the contents of the letter and that it was dated Sept. 20, weeks before West’s recent string of anti-Semitic comments and a parallel controversy over the “White Lives Matter” shirt he wore at his recent Paris Fashion Week show. The New York TimesDealBook reported that it had also confirmed the closure of Ye’s account.

In early Sept. West told Bloomberg that he was done working with corporate partners, saying, “It’s time for me to got it alone. It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever… Now it’s time for ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing between me and the audience.”

The story also noted that Ye had been at odds with Chase already after he’d publicly criticized a number of senior executives and CEO Jamie Dimon, telling Bloomberg about his experience with the bank, “I feel like there’s a lot of controlling and handling to suppress my ability to affect the American economy and industry.”

At the time, West was doing a kind of publicity tour to discuss his break with retail partner The Gap and his troubled relationship with athletic brand, Adidas, with the letter from Chase seemingly arriving within days of the media appearances in which Ye aired his grievances with his fashion and financial partners.

The loss of support from the bank is just one of the crises swirling around West, who has also come under increasing fire over the past week for his repeated use of hateful, anti-Semitic tropes and stereotypes. Those comments — including a number that were edited out of a recent interview with Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson — led to widespread condemnation from fellow artists such as Ariana Grande and Jack Antonoff, as well as an invite from the L.A. Holocaust Museum to come and learn about the potentially deadly results of anti-Semitic hate speech.

West was also locked-out by Twitter after a string of posts, including one in which he threatened to go, “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” At the same time, the Yeezy boss had an Instagram posts removed by parent company Meta after it said the rapper violated its speech policies by posting text messages between him and fellow rapper/entrepreneur P. Diddy claiming he would, “show the Jews that told you to call that no one can threaten or influence me.”

A spokesperson for West has not returned multiple requests for comment.

See Owens’ post below.

Harry Styles Makes History With 3 Hits in Pop Airplay Chart’s Top 10

Harry’s House has made itself quite at home on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart.

On the list dated Oct. 15, Harry Styles infuses the top 10 with three hits, all from his third album: “As It Was,” which reigned for seven weeks beginning in May (No. 4); follow-up “Late Night Talking” (No. 8; a week at No. 1 in September); and third radio track “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” up 12-10 to become the third Pop Airplay top 10 from the set, and his fifth overall.

Harry’s House, released on Erskine/Columbia Records May 20, launched at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated June 4, spent two weeks at the summit, and has ranked in the top 10 in each of its first 20 weeks on the tally.

Styles becomes the first solo male to log three simultaneous Pop Airplay top 10s, and just the third artist total, dating to the chart’s October 1992 inception. Ariana Grande initiated the honor for two weeks in May 2021 with “Positions,” “34+35” and “pov,” all from her album Positions, and Doja Cat tallied two frames in the tier last October with “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA; “You Right,” with The Weeknd; and “Need to Know,” all from her LP Planet Her.

While artist separation has long been a tenet of radio, to help ensure variety, “It’s up to pop radio to reflect what truly is the hottest of the hot, and that’s definitely Harry,” says Erik Bradley, assistant program director/music director at Pop Airplay reporter WBBM-FM Chicago. “It’s a challenge to keep all of his songs separated, but when an artist is this on fire, I tend to not be as critical about that.”

“As programmers, we’re looking to give our listeners what they want,” echoes Mark Adams, iHeartMedia vp of pop programming and pd of Pop Airplay panelist KYLD San Francisco, among other stations. “As the demand for those songs has been overwhelming, we’ve been nimble in recognizing that our listenership is not concerned about the traditional rules of artist separation and have acted accordingly. Ariana Grande and Doja Cat were similarly audience-driven, and radio responded.”

Matt Mony, pd of Pop Airplay reporter WYOY Jackson, Miss., pd, concurs. “Harry Styles and other artists who continue to pump out massive amounts of hits have forced radio playlists to adapt to an online world,” he says. “An album can drop and have five or six songs hit the Spotify top 10 almost instantly. Bad Bunny is a great example. Harry Styles and Doja Cat have both earned a special 15-minute separation on WYOY. Some programmers might look at this as playing too much of a certain artist, [but] Harry Styles is extremely popular right now, so the station should reflect that.”

Also helping Styles’ latest single stand out: its instrumental hook, courtesy of Ivan Jackson on trumpet.

“Pop songs with almost entirely instrumental-driven hooks have seemingly become rare,” Adams says. “I can readily think of Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’ or Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles,’ but there have been fewer of them as of late. Modern dance music producers and DJs are probably where most of the instrumental-dominated hit tracks are originating from in more recent years.” Adams notes such examples as DJ Snake’s “You Know You Like It,” with AlunaGeorge, and “Lean On,” with Major Lazer and featuring MØ, and SAINt JHN’s “Roses.”

Joining “Sushi,” instrumental ingredients are key to David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue),” as the track, another with a dance pedigree, bounds 21-14 on Pop Airplay, built on the signature section of Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” from 2000.

Mony, meanwhile, cites Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” as a song in which an instrumental section was … well, instrumental to its success. “That is such a great record for so many reasons, but that driving bass and drum line makes the song,” he says. Also: “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, as “The Ventures vibe in that guitar riff made that song inescapable.

“It’s refreshing,” Mony muses of “Sushi.” He’s also vocal about … well, the song’s vocals. “Harry’s mini-scat line in the middle doesn’t hurt things, either.”

10 Rock Songs from the Mid-2000s That Have Gotten TikTok Revivals

TikTok’s growing role in popular culture has caused countless songs to be resurrected over the past few years – including some recognizable rock from over a decade ago. While many of the app’s Gen Z users have been exposed to 2000s mainstays like Paramore and Arctic Monkeys thanks to recent releases, several tracks that were released years ago, and were classics to millennials, have found a new life on TikTok. 

Some of these songs have soundtracked iconic television and film scenes, and now find themselves being discovered by a new audience; they’ve also inspired listeners already familiar with their charms to reminisce on simpler times, get up and dance. While some of these artists have taken breaks to embark on solo careers or focus on their mental health, their music lives on and encourages fans, new and old, to keep engaging. 

Here are 10 rock songs from the mid-00’s that TikTok has revived.

Maluma Is a Hopeless Romantic in ‘Junio’: Here Are the Lyrics Translated to English

There’s no doubt that Maluma is in love. Already known for making fans swoon with his romantic reggaeton-pop ballads, the Colombian star released another one titled “Junio.”

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This R&B-funk song co-written by his go-to collaborator, Edgar Barrera, was released Sept. 29 and scored Maluma his 22nd No. 1 on Billboard‘s Latin Airplay chart. (He performed it at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and right after, stepped down from the stage to give his girlfriend, Susana Gomez, a sweet kiss.)

It’s his first No. 1 debut in almost six years on the tally. While he’s scored 22 champs, he last debuted at No. 1 through his featured role in Shakira’s “Chantaje” in November 2016. “Junio” storms in at No. 1 after its first official tracking week with 8.9 million in audience impressions earned in the week ending Oct. 9, according to Luminate.

Below, read the romantic lyrics translated into English:

The moon hid right when it saw you
Because you shine more than her
To me, she’s jealous of you
Because today she didn’t come out
Only the stars appeared
Speaking to them
They told me that you look beautiful
With that pretty little face, you’re beautiful
That’s what the stars and I say

There are no mistakes in the logic
You give me heat as if it was summer in June
How cool would it be if you were my girlfriend
If it’s not that way, then I’ll settle for a kiss
There are no mistakes in the logic
You give me heat as if it was summer in June
How cool would it be if you were my girlfriend
If it’s not that way, then I’ll settle for a kiss

For you, I’ll fight, I’ll look for an argument
Let’s go to the beach, I’ll oil you up
You tan while I watch
Celestial eyes, ocean of the Turks and Caicos, woah
With you, I don’t need the ocean
Ma, you are my sun
That panty never fails
Yellow sunflower
And that vibe of yours, that energy
Is connecting with mine
Hail Mary, who would say?
Baby, you put a spell on me
The stars say you’ll be mine

There are no mistakes in the logic
You give me heat as if it was summer in June
How cool would it be if you were my girlfriend
If it’s not that way, then I’ll settle for a kiss
There are no mistakes in the logic
You give me heat as if it was summer in June
How cool would it be if you were my girlfriend
If it’s not that way, then I’ll settle for a kiss

Yo,’ yo’
La-la-la-la-la-la (wuh)
Jaja, ey
Maluma, baby
La-la-la-la-la-la (okay)
La-la-la-la, la-la
Dímelo, Edge
Keityn, -TYN, -TYN

Kanye West Attends Candace Owens’ Film Premiere, Poses With Ray J & Kid Rock: See the Photos

A little over a week after Candace Owens supported Kanye West by attending his Paris Fashion Week show, the rapper has returned the favor. West joined the conservative political commentator on the red carpet premiere of her new film, Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM, in Nashville on Wednesday night (Oct. 12), with Ray J and Kid Rock at his side at times.

As summarized by a description on Owens’ YouTube channel, the film investigates the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and how it raised millions of dollars by using the “chaos” of the protests. Owens has long been outspoken about her opposition to the BLM movement, founded after the 2013 murder of Trayvon Martin “to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities,” according to the organization’s official website.

Ye and Owens both arrived at the premiere dressed in all black, marking the second time recently that the two have worn matching outfits. At his Oct. 3 Yeezy season 9 show in Paris, West sparked public outrage by posing for a photo with Owens while both of them wore shirts with “White Lives Matter” printed on the back. The phrase is classified as representing a “racist response to the civil rights movement Black Lives Matter,” according to Southern Poverty Law Center.

At the premiere, the “Donda” artist paired his black oversized tuxedo jacket with a baseball cap printed with “2024” — the year of the next presidential election — on the brim. The hat is the latest hint given by West that he plans on running for president in 2024 following his failed bid for president in 2020.

Also sporting black at the premiere was Ray J, who stood for photos next to Ye and a leather jacket-wearing Kid Rock (who, like Ye, supported Donald Trump) on the red carpet. Ray J and Ye have something of a complicated history. Ray J recently alleged that his 2007 sex tape with West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, was orchestrated by Kardashian’s mother/manager, Kris Jenner.

In an April episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim claimed that West had met up with Ray J to retrieve unreleased footage of the tape, which Ray J then said was false in heated comment on Instagram. If there was any beef between the two musicians, though, it seems they have since put it to rest.

Ye’s appearance at Owens’ film screening comes on the heels of not just his “White Lives Matter” controversy, but his anti-Semitic comments as well. He was recently suspended from Instagram and Twitter for posting hostile remarks aimed at Jewish people, something celebrities such as Ariana Grande, John Legend, Jack Antonoff, Jamie Lee Curtis and more have publicly condemned.

See more photos of Kanye West with Candace Owens, Ray J and Kid Rock at the premiere of Greatest Lie Ever Sold below:

Kanye West Candace Owens

Kanye West and Candace Owens attend the “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold” Premiere Screening on October 12, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jason Davis/GI for DailyWire+

Ray J, Kid Rock, Kanye West

Ray J, Kid Rock, and Kanye West attend the “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold” Premiere Screening on October 12, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jason Davis/GI for DailyWire+

Lil Baby’s Feature Price Has Skyrocketed Since ‘My Turn’

Lil Baby’s feature fee is proof that yesterday’s price is not today’s price.

During an interview with the The Experience Podcast with Big Loon this week, the 4PF rapper revealed he currently charges in the region of $250,000 to $350,000 for a guest verse.

That’s more than triple what Lil Baby was charging just two years ago, the same year he solidified himself as a star thanks to his chart-topping, record-breaking album My Turn and protest anthem “The Bigger Picture.”

“At this point it’s safe to say I want 100k for a feature,” he tweeted at the time.

Despite the lucrative revenue stream he’s built for himself, the Atlanta native admitted he isn’t really focused on churning out guest features right now.

“I don’t even be doing features no more,” Lil Baby said when asked about the price of his pen. “But like 300[K], 350[K]. 250[K], 300[K], something like that.

“But I ain’t been doing features lately. Like now, I’m about to put out an album, but if I don’t got an album or nothing going on, [it’s] like, why not?”

Lil Baby has delivered several standout guest verses in 2022 on Nicki Minaj’s “Do We Have a Problem?,” DJ Khaled’s “Staying Alive” and Future’s “Like Me,” among others.

The 27-year-old, who was crowned ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year for a second consecutive year this past summer, has also dropped numerous singles of his own including “In a Minute,” “Detox” and, most recently, “Heyy.”

Lil Durk Reveals 6-Figure Feature Price Following ‘7220’ Success: ‘I Got Receipts’

The songs serve as warm-ups to Lil Baby’s highly anticipated third studio album It’s Only Me, which is set to arrive on Friday (October 14).

As the tracklist revealed earlier this week, the project clocks in at a lengthy 23 songs and boasts appearances from Future, Young Thug, Gunna, Nardo Wick, EST Gee and more.

Tegan and Sara’s 15 Best Songs of All Time (Staff Picks)

After more than 20 years in the spotlight, queer indie pop duo Tegan and Sara Quin are taking a moment to reflect on their humble origins.

High School, the new Amazon Freevee television adaptation of the sisters’ 2019 memoir of the same name (out Friday), follows the lives of teenage Tegan and Sara (played by TikTok stars Railey and Seazynn Gilliland) as they come to grips with their sexualities, learn to live with one another, start their careers and survive the “universally sh–ty” experience of being teenagers, as Tegan told Billboard.

Not only is the show a fascinating look into life as a misunderstood teen in the ’90s; it’s a testament to the pair’s staying power as a musical duo. Their decade-spanning career has seen the Quin sisters take on whatever mantle best suited them in the moment, constantly adapting to the kind of art they were interested in making.

Look no further than the pair’s upcoming tenth studio album Crybaby, due out on Friday, Oct. 21 via Mom + Pop Records. The project blends elements of punk, pop and folk music to create yet another new sonic landscape that feels uniquely suited for Tegan and Sara

With their new show, a new record and years of experience under their belt, it would be only natural that the twins start thinking about their legacy as pioneering performers. Billboard is here to help in that exercise — below, Billboard staff members take a look back at the 15 songs (in no particular order) that best exemplify the breadth of work Tegan and Sara have given their fans since 1999.

BLACKPINK Gets Ready to Hit the Road in Tour Practice Video: Watch

BLACKPINK is getting ready for the tour life ahead of their upcoming global trek. On Thursday (Oct. 13), the four-piece girl group — which consists of Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé — shared a video of themselves heading to the studio to lay down some practice for the Born Pink world tour.

While fans will have to wait until the tour to see what BLACKPINK’s new dances are, the video tides BLINKs over with a vocal practice. The girls head to a studio, and are accompanied by a guitarist, bassist, drummer and keyboard player to provide the instrumentation for their vocal practice. The quartet, dressed in casual clothing, sit in chairs — microphones in hand — as they power through a setlist. (Naturally, the audio of the vocal practice was kept silent to prevent tour spoilers.) Instead, BLACKPINK’s Born Pink track “Yeah Yeah Yeah” was placed as the video’s background music.

The tour practice video marks the second taste fans have received for the Born Pink world tour. On Oct. 5, the K-pop stars teased visuals from the trek, which consisted of two images — one of thick white smoke billowing on a concrete floor, another of a lush, gardenlike setting.

BLACKPINK’s Born Pink world tour is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 15, with its first two dates taking place in Seoul, South Korea. The tour will continue through June 2023 and will make stops in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Watch BLACKPINK’s tour practice video below.

BTS Label’s Attempt to Trademark V’s ‘I Purple You’ Phrase Blocked By Korea’s IP Office

SEOUL — South Korea’s Intellectual Property Office has thrown up a roadblock to HYBE’s efforts to trademark the iconic “I purple you” term BTS member V created during a fan meeting six years ago.

The KIPO says that HYBE’s trademark application for V’s “I purple you (Borahae) cannot be registered as its application has been filed against the principle of good faith,” according to a notice sent to the company.

The patent and trademark office essentially says that HYBE, the parent company of BTS label Big Hit, is not allowed to trademark the phrase that V uttered, even though he is signed to HYBE, because he used it first.

V, real name Kim Tae-hyung, first created the phrase “Borahae” during a Nov. 13, 2016 fan meeting, when he said, “Borahae, like the last color of the rainbow purple (bora), means we will to the end trust each other and love each other for a long time,” the KIPO said.

“I purple you” has become synonymous with BTS. So much so that McDonald’s, in its collaboration with the group, has used the term on the side of its purple-packaged BTS Meals, which have become yet another collectible for fans.

In 2018, after BTS launched its “LOVE MYSELF” campaign, Henrietta H. Fore, the executive director of UNICEF, used the term in a special video thanking the group for its work in helping raise money for a campaign to end violence against children. “We here at UNICEF purple you,” she said at the end of her speech.

In explaining its refusal to allow HYBE to secure a trademark, however, the KIPO sided with V as the creator: “We accept that the applicant has filed a trademark that is similar to or the same as a trademark used by a different person that has a contractual or working relationship such as partnership or employment.”

It cited article 34, paragraph 1, subparagraph 20 in Korean trademark law.

V, who is known to be among the quieter members of BTS, has been active on his Instagram since the notice to HYBE became public knowledge, but hasn’t commented on the case. 

An official at the KIPO, who requested anonymity because they aren’t authorized to comment on an ongoing case, tells Billboard that its decision is not final. HYBE has been given two months to file an addendum that strengthens the company’s claim, and that period could be extended further, without an explicit limit, the official says. “Citation of the subparagraph 20 is very rare, and as far as I know there are no precedents involving BTS,” the person says.

The case follows an earlier unsuccessful application by LALALEES, a Korean cosmetics company specializing in nails, to trademark the “Borahae” term in 2020 under the classification of soaps, fragrances, essential oils, cosmetics, hair products, polishes, and other cleaning agents. After the rejection caused an uproar among fans, the cosmetics company issued an apology.

K-pop companies are known for trademarking names and phrases associated with their artists. When boybands leave their management companies they often cannot perform under their previous name because the companies have registered and own the rights to the boyband’s name.

In 2015, the idol group Shinhwa reclaimed the rights to their name after a 12-year battle with agency ShinCom Entertainment and June Media (formerly known as Open World Entertainment). In that case, Shinhwa’s original agency, SM Entertainment, gave the rights to “Shinhwa” to a new agency, Good Entertainment, and then trademarked the name in 2005, before handing trademark rights over to June Media completely, according to according to K-pop publication Soompi.

And in 2020 a Korean court stripped SM Entertainment director Kim Kyung Wook of trademark rights to the name and logo of first-generation boyband H.O.T. (Highfive of Teenagers), which he originally cast and produced in 1996. While planning a reunion tour, the group in 2018 was forced to remove its name and logo from promotional materials after failing to come to an agreement with Kim over trademark rights, Soompi reported.

Sia’s 6-Year-Old ‘Unstoppable’ Hits No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay Chart

Six years after its release, Sia‘s “Unstoppable” ascends to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Adult Pop Airplay chart (dated Oct. 15).

The song is the singer-songwriter’s second leader on the list, after “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul, reigned for seven weeks beginning in September 2016.

Notably, the two tracks are from the same album – Sia’s 2016 LP This Is Acting, which debuted at its No. 4 best on the Billboard 200 that February and spent 83 weeks on the chart through 2018.

“Unstoppable” has lived up to its title, notably being used promos for Major League Baseball’s 2016 postseason and in a Lancôme Idôle commercial, starring Zendaya, in 2019. It subsequently became prominent on TikTok and soundtracked a Samsung Galaxy ad beginning this February.

Radio promotion began this year for the song, which debuted on the Adult Pop Airplay chart dated May 7.

“We started talking about it in January. The question was, ‘How are we going to do this?’ ” Erik Olesen of Crush Music tells Billboard of the song’s promotional campaign. Complicating the push somewhat, Sia’s most recent material has been released on Atlantic Records and “Unstoppable” was originally on RCA Records, and later moved to Sony Music’s catalog division under the Legacy label. However, “both RCA and Legacy were very supportive and were all about us going for this,” Olesen says.

Olesen recalls bemusement among certain programmers as he began bringing “Unstoppable” to radio, but, seemingly in its favor, it was hardly the only older song cutting through in 2022. “As we got it going, Kate Bush took off” with her 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” sparked by its feature in Netflix’s Stranger Things. “At least ‘Unstoppable’ was 30 years younger!”

As momentum continued to build for the song, “I asked several format captains at different radio chains both domestically and internationally to put it into their callout research,” Olesen recalls. “After a couple of weeks, it started to raise its hand and had huge familiarity. One of the most important ingredients for radio is familiarity.”

Among major-market Adult Pop Airplay panelists, KBIG Los Angeles leads with over 1,600 plays to-date for “Unstoppable,” followed by WWBX Boston (800) and WNEW New York (700), according to Luminate.

Since its release, “Unstoppable” has drawn 388.2 million in airplay audience among reporters to Billboard‘s all-format Radio Songs chart and 250 million official streams and sold 365,000 downloads in the U.S.

In addition to its Adult Pop Airplay coronation, the track rises 10-9 on Radio Songs, up 11% to 37.1 million in reach in the week ending Oct. 6. It also drew 3 million streams and sold 3,000 in that span. It likewise hits new highs on Adult Contemporary (No. 3), Pop Airplay (No. 19) and the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 (No. 30).