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A couple of days ago, Portland’s Animé previewed his latest single via On the Radar, complete with his own backup dancers, and on Wednesday (April 9), he made the song available on streaming services after announcing his first album since 2020’s Limbo. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
These two titans of music have come a long way.
Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” is the top dog on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart (dated April 12) as it leads the list with a 3-1 jump.
On the multimetric chart, which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data, the single improves in the former two divisions, a week after reaching new milestones thanks partly to a remix with Chris Brown.
In the tracking week of March 28-April 3, “Mutt,” released on EZMNY/Motown/ICLG, registered 13.1 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, a 4% gain from the prior’s week total of 12.6 million. The increase keeps the track at No. 1 on the R&B Streaming Songs chart, for a second week at the summit, while it pushes 22-16 on the all-genre Streaming Songs list. It likewise wins a second term at No. 1 on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart despite a 19% loss in digital downloads to 1,500 for the week.
Turning to the radio market, “Mutt” captured 14.7 million impressions in all-format airplay audience, up 18% from the previous week. (All radio airplay, regardless of format, contributes to a track’s rank on the Hot R&B Songs chart.) Three formats provide most of the single’s radio reach: “Mutt” steps 7-6 on Adult R&B Airplay with a 7% boost in plays for the latest tracking week compared with the week prior, climbs 15-13 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (up 16%) and rises 38-36 on Rhythmic Airplay (up 30%). Led by those improvements, the track debuts at No. 47 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart.
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While “Mutt” is Thomas’ first entry as an artist on Hot R&B Songs, the multi-talent has appeared has co-written six previous hits on the chart, including Ella Mai’s “Not Another Love Song” (No. 9 in 2020), Bryson Tiller’s “Ciao” (No. 9, 2024) and SZA’s “Snooze,” which spent 32 weeks at No. 1 in 2023-24 and won Thomas his first Grammy Award, for best R&B song.
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Now with his own material, Thomas, who wrote “Mutt” in 2022, is making inroads across several charts. In addition to conquering the Hot R&B Songs chart, his breakthrough single leaps 10-5 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and springs 28-21 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Worldwide activity is up, too, with a 47-40 hop on the Billboard Global 200 and a 191-137 jump on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.
The song’s parent album of the same name, meanwhile, earns a fourth week on the Top R&B Albums chart, sliding 10-12 with 12,000 equivalent album units for the week (down less than 1%).
Sada Baby was arrested on drug possession charges in Michigan on Tuesday (April 8). According to Macomb County Sheriff’s Office records, Sada (real name Casada Sorrell) was booked in Macomb County Jail by the Sterling Heights Police Department. Per The Detroit News, Sada Baby’s arrest stemmed from a traffic stop in January. Last week, Sterling […]
Four years after DMX’s tragic 2021 death, a New York judge has ruled that his ex-wife can’t claim a 50 percent stake in the rapper’s music catalog and other intellectual property (IP) rights.
Tashera Simmons, who was married to the legendary rapper (Earl Simmons) for 16 years, sued his estate last year, claiming she was the rightful owner of half of his copyrights, trademarks and likeness rights. But in a ruling Monday (April 7), a New York judge said otherwise.
“The estate is the sole owner of all intellectual property rights [that] Earl Simmons acquired during his marriage to plaintiff, as well as any and all other trademarks and intellectual property rights that belonged to Earl Simmons at the time of his death,” Judge David F. Everett wrote.
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The dispute centers on the couple’s 2016 divorce agreement, which mentioned “intellectual property” but didn’t expressly state that Tashera was a co-owner of the copyrights and trademarks. Before his death, DMX insisted the deal only granted her royalty payments — an argument his estate has maintained in the years since his death.
In Monday’s decision, Judge Everett not only ruled that the divorce settlement “does not confer ownership,” but that Tashera had essentially waived the right to make that claim. The judge cited the fact that she had raised the issue in previous litigation and had then signed a settlement that made no mention of sharing ownership.
“Under the circumstances of this case, the court will not, in effect, reopen those proceedings to reinterpret the parties’ 2016 settlement agreement, particularly where the party best positioned to contest a contrary interpretation is now deceased,” the judge wrote.
DMX, one of the most influential stars in hip-hop history, was married to Tashera through his turn-of-the-century heyday, as he released Billboard Hot 100 hits like “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” “Party Up (Up In Here)” and “What These Bitches Want.” The pair, who share four children, filed for divorce in 2013 and finalized the split in 2016. After years of health issues, DMX died in April 2021 following a drug overdose and subsequent heart attack.
Tashera sued last year, claiming that the estate’s administrators (DMX’s ex-fiancée Desiree Lindstrom and his daughter by another woman, Sasha Simmons) were improperly disputing her ownership stake. She cited a handwritten excerpt from the divorce settlement, which said she would get half of IP rights, followed by: “which shall include, but not be limited to, royalties.”
But in Monday’s decision, Judge Everett said that language “does not unequivocally assign ownership of decedent’s copyrighted works or trademark and, indeed, makes no mention of ownership or title to such property.”
“Instead, plaintiff proffers an interpretation of the phrase ‘intellectual property rights’ to include ownership, but had that phrase meant ownership, then there would be no need to define those rights further in the subsequent clause, all tellingly limited to various categories of royalty payments.”
The judge did side with Tashera on one smaller issue by refusing to dismiss her accusations that DMX had breached the divorce agreement by failing to pay $214,000 in child support. That issue is factually disputed by both sides, the judge said, meaning dismissing it would be “premature.”
Neither side immediately returned a request for comment on Wednesday (April 9).
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Getty Images / PlayStation / PS5 / PlayStation Portal
The PS5 and PS Portal just got exciting updates.
PS5 owners have been screaming for PlayStation to give them the ability to customize their PS5 homepages with themes, specifically dynamic ones like on the PS4, and we are finally getting something in that same vein.
PlayStation Lifestyle reports that PlayStation has been slowly rolling out an update that allows PS5 owners to change their welcome screen with one of many new animated backgrounds.
Players with access to the new animated backgrounds will be greeted by a system notification about adding the animated themes.
A screenshot revealed that players can access themes from these games: Days Gone Remastered, Ghost of Yotei, Ghost of Tsushima, Demon’s Souls, God of War Ragnarok, the Horizon Zero Dawn games, and more.
https://twitter.com/Genki_JPN/status/1909954530080444446
The PlayStation Portal Also Gets A Significant Update
The PS Portal has also gotten a significant update that dramatically improves it. Now, players can access many new features that will enhance their gaming experience while using Cloud Game Streaming Beta.
Here is a breakdown via the PlayStation Blog:
Sort
You can now sort games in the Cloud Streaming (Beta) catalog screen. There will be a new sort icon added to the top left corner, allowing you to sort games by: Recently added to PS Plus (default), Name, and Release date.
Capture gameplay
The Create button on your PS Portal will now be enabled during a Cloud Streaming (Beta) session. Here is what you can do:
Press once: Display the create menu
Press and hold: Take a screenshot
Press twice: Start/finish recording a video clip**
Images and videos captured during a streaming session will be automatically uploaded to the cloud server, which can be accessed from the PlayStation App by selecting [Library] > [Captures]. Your captures will be stored for 14 days after they were created.
Queue
You can now wait for your turn to play when the streaming server is full. The estimated wait time will be displayed on screen, and the game session will automatically start as soon as it’s your turn.
Pause
During a Cloud Streaming (Beta) game session, gameplay will now pause in the following situations:
Gameplay will pause when you open the PS Portal quick menu. You can open the quick menu by pressing the PS button, swiping left from the top right corner of your screen, or tapping the quick menu icon from the status bar.
When you press the power button once, PS Portal will be put into rest mode and the game will be paused. You can un-pause and get back to your game play by pressing the power button again. If PS Portal remains in rest mode for more than 15 seconds, the cloud streaming session will be disconnected.
Gameplay will also pause when a system error message is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
Note that the pause feature will not be supported in some cases, such as during an online multiplay session.
Notification of inactivity
You will now receive a system notification when your streaming session is about to close due to inactivity of over 10 minutes.
User feedback screen
We have added a user feedback screen at the end of the streaming sessions to rate the quality of your streaming experience. This will help us identify what went well or could be improved, as we continue to enhance the quality of our service.
This is partner content. Latin superstar Greeicy gives Billboard a glimpse into her life after a long string of shows and tells us how she gets the house ready to host friends and family by using Lysol’s latest line of Lavender & Cotton Blossom scented Brand New Day products. Greeicy:Hey, guys! Welcome! I just got […]
Mumford & Sons return to the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the band’s first album in over six years, Rushmere, debuts at No. 3 on the April 12-dated list. It’s the sixth top 10-charting effort for the group overall.
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The album also takes a bow in the top 10 on Top Alternative Albums (No. 2), Top Rock Albums (No. 2), Americana/Folk Albums (No. 2), Independent Albums (No. 2), Top Rock & Alternative Albums (No. 3), Vinyl Albums (No. 3) and Indie Store Album Sales (No. 5).
Elsewhere in the top 10 on the Top Album Sales chart, Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine reenters atop the list following its Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead expanded reissue, while the latest efforts from Lucy Dacus, Alison Krauss + Union Station and NAV all arrive in the region.
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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.
Rushmere launches with 20,500 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending April 3, according to Luminate. Vinyl accounts for nearly half of that sum. The set’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including a signed version), four CD variants (including two signed versions), a cassette tape and a standard digital download.
Atop the chart, Ariana Grande’s 2024 album Eternal Sunshine reenters at No. 1 with 61,000 sold (up 5,338%). Its sales surge was caused by the release of its Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead expanded reissue with six previously unreleased songs. (All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes under the title Eternal Sunshine.)
Sales of Eternal Sunshine were aided by its availability in a variety of permutations released for the Brighter Days Ahead launch. The original Eternal Sunshine album had 13 tracks, and the core Brighter Days Ahead album added six cuts: one extended version of the album-opening “Inro (End of the World)” and five new songs.
Grande’s webstore sold three exclusive variants of the download edition of the album: the 19-track edition, a version with the 19 tracks plus instrumentals of the same cuts, and another version with the 19 tracks and a cappella renditions of each cut (all with alternative cover artwork). Grande also released two vinyl variants and six CD editions of the reissue (some signed by the artist), containing the 19 tracks plus the three bonus tracks originally found on the album’s “slightly deluxe” reissues last year. Vinyl accounted for 26,000 of the set’s sales for the week – it reenters at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.
Lucy Dacus nabs her first top 10 on Top Album Sales, and with her largest sales week yet, as Forever Is a Feeling bows at No. 2 with 24,000 sold. Sales of the project were helped by its availability across nine vinyl variants (some signed), three CD variants (including a signed edition), a cassette tape and a standard download album. (Vinyl accounted for 17,500 of the album’s first-week sales. It debuts at No. 2 on the Vinyl Albums chart.)
Lady Gaga’s former leader MAYHEM falls 2-4 on Top Album Sales (nearly 10,500; down 22%), Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping GNX dips 4-5 (almost 9,500; down 18%) and Sabrina Carpenter’s former No. 1 Short n’ Sweet rises 7-6 (just over 9,000; down 4%).
Alison Krauss and Union Station’s Arcadia – the first album from Krauss and Union Station in 14 years – debuts at No. 7 with nearly 9,000 sold. Krauss and Union Station last released a new studio project with Paper Airplane in 2011. The new set was issued across three vinyl variants, three CD variants (including a signed edition) and a standard download album.
NAV’s OMW2 Rexdale rounds out the debuts in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, as it enters at No. 8 with nearly 7,500 sold. It was available to purchase on vinyl, two CD variants (including a signed edition), four deluxe boxed sets (containing a copy of the standard CD and branded clothing), a standard download album, and eight artist webstore-exclusive variants of the download album (each with bonus tracks and alternative cover artwork).
Closing out the top 10: Selena Gomez and benny blanco’s I Said I Love You First falls 1-9 in its second week (7,000; down 90%) and Chappell Roan’s chart-topping The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a non-mover at No. 10 (nearly 7,000; down 4%).
Bella, where have you been, loca? Twilight‘s going on tour!
GEA Live and Lionsgate announced Twilight concert tour on Wednesday (April 9), according to Variety. The 60-date run will span across U.S. and kick off with a preview performance in Spokane, Wash.,on Sept. 12. It then opens in Seattle on Sept. 13, a.k.a. National Twilighters Day.
The live-to-film experience will show the original 2008 movie accompanied by an onstage 12-piece ensemble of rock and orchestral musicians, who will synchronize their performance to scenes in the visual. Tickets go on sale this Friday (April 11).
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The five Twilight films (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn – Parts 1 & 2) are based on the popular Stephanie Meyer book series of the same name. The first novel, released in 2005, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. To celebrate, publishers Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is releasing a new edition of the series for a new generation of fans. The Twilight Saga Deluxe Hardcover Collection features five hardcover books, including the four main entries in the series as well as Midnight Sun, the companion novel published in 2020.
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See the full list of dates of the Twilight concert tour below.
September 12 – Spokane, WA – First Interstate Center for the ArtsSeptember 13 – Seattle, WA – Paramount TheatreSeptember 14 – Bellingham, WA – Mount Baker TheatreSeptember 15 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert HallSeptember 17 – Idaho Falls, ID – Frontier Center for the Performing ArtsSeptember 18 – Boise, ID – Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing ArtsSeptember 19 – Eugene, OR – Hult Center for the Performing ArtsSeptember 20 – Sacramento, CA – SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts CenterSeptember 21 – Modesto, CA – Gallo Center for the ArtsSeptember 23 – San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate TheatreSeptember 24 – Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Center for the ArtsSeptember 25 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Civic TheatreSeptember 26 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Center for the Performing ArtsSeptember 27 – Reno, NV – Pioneer CenterSeptember 28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles TheaterSeptember 30 – Los Angeles, CA – The WilternOctober 1 – Riverside, CA – Fox Performing Arts CenterOctober 2 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arts CenterOctober 3 – Tucson, AZ – Fox TucsonOctober 4 – Albuquerque, NM – Popejoy HallOctober 5 – Denver, CO – Buell TheatreOctober 7 – Omaha, NE – Orpheum TheatreOctober 8 – Oklahoma City, OK – Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts TheatreOctober 9 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial CentreOctober 10 – Dallas, TX – Majestic TheatreOctober 11 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert HallOctober 12 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic TheatreOctober 14 – New Orleans, LA – The Mahalia Jackson TheaterOctober 15 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran Theater October 16 – Orlando, FL – Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing ArtsOctober 17 – Sarasota, FL – Van Wezel Performing Arts HallOctober 18 – W. Palm Beach, FL – Kravis CenterOctober 19 – Miami, FL – Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht CenterOctober 21 – Wilmington, NC – Wilson CenterOctober 22 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts CenterOctober 23 – Greensboro, NC – Tanger CenterOctober 24–25 – Washington, DC – National TheatreOctober 26 – Wallingford, CT – Oakdale TheatreOctober 28 – Cincinnati, OH – Proctor and Gamble HallOctober 29 – Chesterfield, MO – The FactoryOctober 30 – Des Moines, IA – Des Moines Civic CenterOctober 31 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Embassy TheatreNovember 1 – Utica, NY – Stanley TheatreNovember 2 – Boston, MA – Emerson Colonial TheaterNovember 4 – Charlotte, NC – Ovens AuditoriumNovember 5 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat TheatreNovember 6 – Detroit, MI – Fisher TheatreNovember 7–8 – Chicago, IL – Cadillac Palace TheatreNovember 9 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum TheatreNovember 11 – Rochester, NY – Kodak CenterNovember 12 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie TheatreNovember 13 – Portland, ME – Merrill AuditoriumNovember 14 – Buffalo, NY – UB Center for the ArtsNovember 15 – Providence, RI – The VETSNovember 16 – Brooklyn, NY – Kings TheatreNovember 18 – Reading, PA – Santander Performing Arts CenterNovember 19 – Baltimore, MD – Lyric Opera HouseNovember 20 – Dayton, OH – Victoria TheatreNovember 21 – Richmond, VA – Dominion Energy CenterNovember 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Met Opera HouseNovember 23 – Newark, NJ – New Jersey Performing Arts CenterNovember 25 – Atlanta, GA – Cobb Energy Performing Arts CentreNovember 26 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd HallNovember 28 – Columbus, OH – Palace TheatreNovember 29 – Cleveland, OH – KeyBank State TheatreNovember 30 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre
A trio of in-depth environmental impact reports are set to be presented for the first time each at next week’s Music Sustainability Summit in Los Angeles.
Representatives from MIT will be at the event to present their Live Music Emissions in the UK and US report, a comprehensive study of the live music industry’s carbon footprint.
The report aims to create a comprehensive assessment of the relationship between live music and climate change, identify primary areas where the industry and concert goers can make tangible improvements to reduce emissions and provide analysis of the latest developments in green technology and sustainable practices. This study has been co-funded and supported by Warner Music Group, Live Nation and Coldplay.
Additionally, Madeline Weir, director of impact at REVERB will present the longstanding organization’s Concert Travel Study, which highlights concert travel — one of the largest sources of live music-related emissions — and shows how the broad music community can address it through collective action. This report is based on insights from more than 35,000 fans at over 400 shows and offers practical, scalable solutions to create more sustainable concerts.
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Finally, representatives from sustainability programs at Columbia University will present a report analyzing current practices, surveying the regulatory landscape and identifying challenges and opportunities related to implementing sustainability practices in venues. An accompanying toolkit will offer tips on how venues can integrate sustainability into their business operations. This report was done in partnership with the Music Sustainability Alliance, with support from OVG and AEG.
The second annual Music Sustainability Summit happens on April 15 at Solotech Studios in Los Angeles. The day-long gathering will offer a robust schedule featuring talks, panel discussions, networking opportunities, performances and more. See the complete program here.
Passes for the Summit are available here. Billboard is the official media sponsor of the event.
“Providing a platform for our partners to present their research at MSS25 is about turning knowledge into momentum,” says Amy Morrison, CEO and Co-founder of the Music Sustainability Alliance. “Whether it’s fan travel, venue operations, or the emissions footprint of live music, these studies help identify where the biggest challenges and the greatest opportunities exist. At MSA, we’re here to ensure the industry has the tools and insights it needs to lead on climate.”