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07 Mar 2025

Elton John Extends Top 10 Record on Adult Contemporary Chart With Brandi Carlile Collab ‘Who Believes in Angels?’

Elton John adds his record-extending 43rd top 10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, and Brandi Carlile earns her first, as their duet “Who Believes in Angels?” ascends a spot to No. 10 on the survey dated March 15.

The song adds Greatest Gainer honors, thanks to its 22% surge in plays Feb. 28-March 6. (The Adult Contemporary chart ranks songs by weekly plays on more than 80 radio stations in the format monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.)

John first reached the top 10 on the list dated Feb. 6, 1971, with his first entry, his iconic ballad “Your Song.” He had most recently made the tier with the No. 4-peaking “Hold Me Closer,” with Britney Spears, in 2022-23. Before that, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa, became his record-extending 18th No.1 in May 2022.

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Here’s a look at the artists with the most top 10s since Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart began with the edition dated July 17, 1961:

  • 42, Elton John
  • 38, Neil Diamond
  • 35, Barbra Streisand
  • 31, Elvis Presley
  • 29, Dionne Warwick
  • 28, Barry Manilow
  • 28, Kenny Rogers
  • 26, Whitney Houston
  • 24, Chicago
  • 24, Billy Joel
  • 24, James Taylor
  • 24, Bobby Vinton

Carlile hits the Adult Contemporary top 10 with her second entry on the chart. “Party of One,” featuring Sam Smith, reached No. 29 in 2018. The singer-songwriter boasts five No. 1s on the Americana/Folk Albums chart, notched between 2010 and 2021. She has also won 11 Grammy Awards. (John has collected five, along with the Grammy Legend Award in 1999.)

“Who Believes in Angels?” previews John and Carlile’s album of the same name, due April 4. A second taste of the set, the jangly “Swing for the Fences,” was released Wednesday (March 5).

All charts dated March 15 will update Tuesday, March 11 on Billboard.com.

07 Mar 2025

Bebe Rexha Cannot Get Over This Song From Lady Gaga’s ‘Mayhem’: ‘I Want a Love Like That’

Little Monsters everywhere have spent all day Friday (March 7) rejoicing, after Lady Gaga unveiled her long-awaited new album Mayhem. One of those fans, it turns out, is Gaga’s fellow pop star Bebe Rexha.

In a series of posts shared on X, the “I’m the Drama” singer shared her first impression of Gaga’s new album, calling out just a few of her top tracks off Mayhem. “My favorites are blade of grass, LoveDrug, zombie boy, vanish into you,” Rexha reported to her fans.

But the heartfelt ballad “Blade of Grass” in particular stood out among Rexha’s early favorites, as the singer continued to share her astonishment at Gaga’s new love song. “Blade of grasss is soooooo gooood,” she wrote. “And the story behind blade of grass. Omg. I want a love like that.”

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The story Rexha referred to was revealed during Gaga’s wide-ranging interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. The star said that “Blade of Grass” was inspired by her fiancé, Michael Polansky, and a charming moment the two shared shortly before he proposed.

“Michael asked me how I would want him to propose to me one day,” she explained. “We were in our backyard and I said, ‘Just take a blade of grass and wrap it around my finger,’ and then I wrote ‘Blade of Grass’ because I remembered the way his face looked and I remembered the grass in the backyard and I remember thinking he should use that really long grass that’s in the center of the backyard.”

Rexha is just one fan amongst a sea of them sharing their love for Gaga’s new record. In an interview with Billboard, Gaga reacted to her fans’ unyielding support in the lead-up to Mayhem. “I’ve seen Little Monsters be so amazing for almost 20 years. I haven’t seen us like this in a long time,” she said. “I am really honored. All I ever want to do is make something that you press play and you feel good for the duration of the record, and maybe you play it again.”

See Rexha’s reaction to Gaga’s Mayhem below:

07 Mar 2025

Old Man Trump Walks Back Tariffs Threats, Again

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President Trump Signs Executive Orders At The White House

Source: Alex Wong / Getty

President Donald Trump is facing questions after walking back threatened tariffs on Mexico & Canada for the second time. 

On Thursday (March 6), President Donald Trump reversed course and postponed tariffs of 25% of goods that he levied against Mexico and Canada on Tuesday (March 4) for the second time, leading many to question his process. He stated that they would be postponed until April 2. Trump had bragged about the tariffs at his State of The Union address then, claiming they would lead the U.S. to success. “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There’ll be a little disturbance. We’re okay with that. It won’t be much,” he said at the time.

Canada, Mexico, and China immediately responded with their retaliatory tariffs, which sent the stock market tumbling on Wednesday (March 5)with the Dow falling 1,300 points in response to consumer concerns stateside about rising prices. On Thursday, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who said afterward in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that they “had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results.” Hours later, Trump signed an executive order granting the same postponement to Canada. 

Commerce Secretary Harold Lutnick mentioned the possibility of tariff postponements in a CNBC interview, stating that it would cover all goods. “ I think it’s likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services,” he said. The USMCA refers to the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that was signed in 2018, and enforced beginning in 2020. Initially, Trump was seeking to relieve tariffs on automakers, no doubt in response to a Fox News segment where an auto dealer explained that the immediate effect of the tariffs would add $20,000 to the price of a car on the lot.

Trump’s backpedaling didn’t come without criticism. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted him in a press conference on Tuesday. “Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” he said. China was more direct, expressing that they would  “resolutely counter” all tariffs placed on their goods.

07 Mar 2025

Shinedown Becomes First Act With 20 Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1s

Shinedown adds to its record number of No. 1s on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, strutting to the top of the March 15-dated survey with “Dance, Kid, Dance.”

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The song becomes Shinedown’s milestone 20th leader on Mainstream Rock Airplay, which began in 1981. The Brent Smith-fronted rockers first reigned with “Save Me” in 2005. They have earned their two most recent rulers consecutively, as “Dance, Kid, Dance” follows the four-week rule of “A Symptom of Being Human” in January-February 2024.

All of the band’s No. 1s on the chart have been released on and promoted to radio by Atlantic Records.

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Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:
20, Shinedown
18, Three Days Grace
15, Five Finger Death Punch
14, Foo Fighters
14, Metallica
13, Godsmack
13, Van Halen
12, Disturbed
12, Linkin Park

“Dance, Kid, Dance” is one of two Shinedown songs currently on the tally. “Three Six Five,” which was released concurrently with “Dance, Kid, Dance” on Jan. 24, reaches a new No. 38 high.

“Dance, Kid, Dance” also lifts 7-6 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 3.3 million audience impressions (up 1%) in the week ending March 6, according to Luminate.

On the most recently published, multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated March 8, reflecting data Feb. 21-27), “Dance, Kid, Dance” ranked at No. 9, after it debuted at its No. 3 high (Feb. 8). In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 344,000 official U.S. streams.

“Three Six Five,” meanwhile, is the lead radio single at other radio formats. It rises 17-16 on Adult Pop Airplay and holds at its No. 19 best on Alternative Airplay.

Both songs are the first tastes of new music from Shinedown since 2022’s Planet Zero. A new studio album, the band’s eighth, has not yet been announced.

All Billboard charts dated March 15 will update Tuesday, March 11 on Billboard.com.

07 Mar 2025

Crypto Fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried Says Diddy Is “Kind” Behind Bars

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FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, appears in court on federal fraud charges

Source: Anadolu / Getty

Last year, we learned that famous crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried was set to be locked up in the same jailhouse as “The Diddler” himself, Diddy. And as interesting as that was, what’s more intriguing is that it seems like the two public pariah’s have actually crossed paths behind bars, and Fried had nothing but love for him.

According to the Daily Mail UK, Sam Bankman-Fried sat down for an interview with right-wing media darling, Tucker Carlson (of course) from a remote room at the Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, and during the wide-ranging interview, which included his charges, prison life and evil Democrats (of course), Tucker bluntly asked him “Have you made friends there? Are you hanging with Diddy? I think he’s in there with you.”

While you’d think that fresh fish like Fried would have a hard time in jail given the nature of his blue collar crime and his overall appearance, he says that he’s been treated well by his fellow inmates and Diddy, in particular, has basically been living up to his moniker “Brother Love” from what he could tell.

Per Daily Mail UK:

‘He is.. he’s been kind. I’ve made some friends, it’s a weird environment. It’s a combination of a few other high-profile cases and a lot of alleged ex-gangsters.

‘I’ve only seen one piece of him, which is Diddy in prison. He’s been kind to people in the unit, he’s been kind to me.

‘It’s kind of a soul crushing place for the world in general and what we see are just the people that are around us on the inside rather than who we are on the outside.

‘Some of them I think are thinking well this is sort of an opportunity to meet people they wouldn’t otherwise get to meet,’ Bankman-Fried said.

‘It makes sense from their perspective, but boy is that not how I think about prison.’

Yeah, most of us are actually good on having to go to prison to get the opportunity to meet celebrities or people we wouldn’t normally interact with, but hey, that’s just us.

While we’re glad to hear that Diddy is in good spirits while behind bars, we just hope that Fried doesn’t end up getting shaken down for some “chon chon” at some point on some Blood In Blood Out sh*t. Just sayin’.

Luckily for him, Fried also added that “The fortunate thing, the place I’m in, I’m not in… I’m not in physical danger.” Let’s hope it stays that way.

What do y’all think about Sam Bankman-Fried’s description of Diddy and their current prison environment? Is he good, or do you think it’s only a matter of time before things go left? Let us know in the comments section below.

07 Mar 2025

Normani Goes Public With Her Relationship, Kai Cenat Debates LeBron vs. Jordan & More | Billboard News 

Normani went public with her relationship and credited Ciara and Russell Wilson for the setup, Kai Cenat debates who the GOAT is between MJ & LeBron, and GloRilla is ready to take the stage for various sports events.

What’s your favorite sports and music update from today? Let us know in the comments!

Kai Cenat:

You always got something to say about LBJ and I’m here to say it, bro: LeBron is better than Jordan, I said it.

Tetris Kelly:

Billboard cover star Kai Cenat was a guest on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ and he had a lot to say. Kai debated Stephen A. Smith on the MJ vs. LeBron GOAT debate and whether he was a better baller than Stephen A.

Kai Cenat:

Michael Jordan ain’t never had 50,000 points. Let’s talk about that, OK? 

Stephen A Smith:

He ain’t play 25 years.

Tetris Kelly:

Kai also shared his opinion on which team he’d like to see Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter get drafted to.

Kai Cenat:

He gotta come to the New York Giants. Come on, we need something. I feel like New York, yo we need something

Tetris Kelly:

We’ll just have to wait until the NFL draft in April to see if Kai’s wish comes true. But someone who can’t wait for the draft is GloRilla! March Madness is coming up & GloRilla was just announced as the headliner for AT&T’s Super Saturday concert at the Women’s NCAA Final Four on April 5 in Tampa. GloRilla told Billboard she “can’t wait to connect with her fans during one of the most exciting times for women’s sports.”

Keep watching for more!

07 Mar 2025

UMG Is ‘In Conversations’ With Multiple Streamers on Super-Premium Tiers. That’s Good News for Everybody

Get ready for a new era of innovation by streaming services. That was the message sent by Universal Music Group (UMG) chief digital officer Michael Nash during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday (March 6), during which he noted that the label is currently in talks with all of its streaming partners — not just Spotify — about super-premium tiers.

“There’s a continuing wave of innovation that we’ve seen really transform our business and transform the digital landscape in particular, over the last decade, and we anticipate that that’s going to continue as the market grows,” said Nash.

Not that streaming services haven’t been innovating since day one. Listeners have enjoyed new ways to discover music (the growth of playlists, personalized listening and algorithm-driven radio stations), follow their favorite artists (album pre-saves) and view concert listings and lyrics. From 2011 to 2014, Spotify allowed developers (Rolling Stone, Billboard, Tunewiki and Songkick, among others) to build apps that lived inside its platform and utilized its song catalog. Services such as Tidal and Qobuz have made high-fidelity audio a part of their brand identities. And over the years, the types of subscription offerings expanded from individual plans to encompass family plans and affordable student options.

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But the type of innovation that Nash referenced is different. Except for high-fidelity audio, streaming innovations haven’t resulted in greater revenue per user — all the features packed into streaming services haven’t cost the consumers anything extra. That’s going to change. The next wave of music streaming will have products and services that carry higher prices. After decades of providing the same service to all customers, streaming platforms will segment the market and offer premium products to a subset of their subscribers.

Super-premium streaming is one component of what UMG calls “streaming 2.0.” On Thursday, CEO Lucian Grainge explained that streaming 2.0 “will build on the enormous scale we’ve achieved thus far in streaming’s initial stage. This next stage of streaming will see it evolve into a more sustainable and growing, artist centric ecosystem that improves monetization and delivers great experiences for fans.” Offering multiple tiers rather than a single subscription plan, Grainge said, “enabl[es] us to segment and capture customer value at higher than ever levels.”

Conversations about superfan offerings have extended as far as concert promotion and ticketing. Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino revealed during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that streaming services are interested in pre-sale ticket offers. “We’ve talked to them all about ideas on if they wanted inventory,” he revealed on the Feb. 20 call. “There’s a cost to that, and we would entertain and look at that option if it made sense for us in comparison to other options we have for that pre sell.”

Spotify is known to be working on a superfan product — CEO Daniel Ek revealed in February that he is testing an early version — but Nash suggested other streaming services could follow suit. “We’re in conversations with all of our partners about super-premium tiers,” he said. “We think this is going to be an important development for segmentation of the market.”

JP Morgan believes the customer segmentation that Nash referenced will be a component of UMG’s growth over the next 10 to 20 years. “In a streaming 1.0 world UMG was reliant on DSPs raising retail price rises if it was to benefit from a higher wholesale price; in a streaming 2.0 environment UMG has visibility on wholesale price rises that underpin its growth algorithm, while still having potential upside should DSPs raise prices above the minimum,” analysts wrote in a March 6 investor note.

UMG’s market research suggests that 20% of music subscribers are likely to pay for a superfan streaming product, according to Nash. If Spotify reaches that threshold, it will have converted roughly 53 million of its 263 million subscribers into higher-paying customers (as of Dec. 31). It’s already worked for at least one company outside the U.S., as Tencent Music Entertainment has already proven there’s demand for a high-priced, value-added streaming product: Its Super VIP tier, which costs five times the normal subscription rate, had 10 million subscribers at the end of September — over 8% of TME’s 119 million total subscribers. If other streamers can successfully follow suit, new superfan streaming products will generate more revenue for artists, rights owners and streaming platforms — and help the music business continue to grow for years to come.

07 Mar 2025

Cash Cobain, Bay Swag & Rob49 Are ‘Trippin on a Yacht’: Watch

Cash Cobain makes addictive music.

Since he previewed “Trippin on a Yacht” on PlaqueBoyMax‘s stream earlier this year, the snippet has been all over TikTok, as has become a tradition when it comes to music he purposely teases on social media. And when he finally dropped the single, we included it on our Fresh Picks of the Week column.

So today we present to you the music video, which was shot in New Orleans, directed by Frankie and produced by FreeWater. With Cash flipping a sample of a New Orleans bounce beat, it made sense to hit Nola for the visuals. N.O. native Rob49, showed them some of that southern hospitality as he took Cash and Bay Swag through his city where they ended up partying on a yacht with India Love amidst a ton of booties bouncing. Maybe they can get Justin Bieber on the remix, with Biebervelli recently outing himself as a member of the Slizzy Mafia and the kids are calling him Slizzy Bieber.

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Cash is starting his year off on a good foot as he looks to follow up his impressive debut album Play Cash Cobain. Expect to hear the words “I think I gotta take another shot/ I think I fell in love with a thot/ The Don Julio got me hot” a lot this summer, especially in New York City.

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It looks like we’re in for another Slizzy Summer and the only question is: Will this summer be slizzier than the last?

Watch the video below.

07 Mar 2025

For j-hope, Military Service Was an ‘Opportunity for More Exploration’: ‘I Found a Lot of New Inspiration’

j-hope is doing it all now that he’s completed his mandatory military service for South Korea. And as the BTS superstar is preparing to hit the road for his Hope on the Stage Tour, he’s sharing how serving his country gave him time to consider what’s ahead for him.

“I think the period of rest that naturally came with the situation actually became an opportunity for more exploration,” the global star told Rolling Stone in a new interview published Friday (March 7). “I found a lot of new inspiration and got to spend much time thinking about the future. I also started making plans for what I want to do once I complete my military service.”

What’s more, he added, time in the military helped shape him. “I still believe that experiences are invaluable. The thoughts I had during those times have become an inseparable part of me, nurturing and shaping who I am today,” he told the publication. “Ultimately, they have influenced the stories I tell, the music I aspire to create, my choreography and the overall aspects of my work, deepening my understanding of my own thoughts.”

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j-hope completed his time in uniform in October, and became the second member of BTS to finish his service. (Jin, who was first to start military duties, was discharged in June; the rest of the K-pop group — V, Suga, RM, Jimin and Jung Kook — are all expected to complete their service this year, with full group activities resuming after.) By January, j-hope was already teasing that not only was he releasing new solo music this year, but that he was hitting the road as well. After a series of shows in Seoul and late February and early March, he’ll be taking Hope on the Stage to Brooklyn, N.Y., for a pair of shows beginning on March 13, with the tour also making stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Singapore, Bangkok and more before ending June 1 in Osaka, Japan.

As for that new music he teased? It was a new single titled “Sweet Dreams,” featuring Miguel, who j-hope told Rolling Stone he has “respected greatly” for a long time. Said the star of working with the R&B singer-songwriter, “We got in touch, and despite the challenges of it being around the holiday season, he was so kind and eager to collaborate. I remember sending him a personal text to thank him.”

The “Chicken Noodle Soup” singer also shared that his BTS bandmates have also had a chance to listen to his new track. “I played the song for all of the members. I made sure to share it with them when each of them was on their military leave, and I felt proud to be able to play it for them first,” he told the publication. “I was very happy that everyone liked it.”

Next up for j-hope is his solo debut performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, March 10. Miguel will be appearing alongside the K-pop star.

07 Mar 2025

Oscar Maydon & Netón Vega’s ‘Amigos? No.’ and More: Which Is Your Favorite New Latin Music Release of the Week? Vote!

This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new music including collaborations between Oscar Maydon and Netón Vega’s Amigos? No.” and Kapo and Myke Towers’ “ILY.” Plus, Banda MS released its highly-anticipated album Edición Limitada.

In another collab, Argentine rapper Tiago PZK teamed up with Teddy Swims for sometimes “Sometimes,” the focus single off of Tiago’s GOTTI B EP.  “This song is a big step for me — working with an artist I’ve looked up to and pushing my sound in a new direction,” Tiago said in a statement. “It feels like the start of something fresh, and I’m excited for people to hear this next chapter.”

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Teddy Swims added, “It’s such an honor to be working with one of the most talented and most incredible people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting! I love Tiago so much, and I’m so grateful to call him a friend! Hope you all love this song as much as we do, and I hope you party to it as much as we have too!”

Meanwhile, Jay Wheeler released “NSQMQ,” a sweet ballad about the internal struggle of someone who is trying to move forward. “We’ve all experienced moments where we don’t know how to move on after losing someone (or something) important to us,” Jay said about his new release. “‘No Sé Qué Me Queda’ is my way of expressing that feeling, but also of remembering that, even if it hurts, there’s always a way to move on.”

Other new releases include Domelipa’s “XXX,” Ambar Lucid’s “There Goes My Baby” and Gabito Ballesteros’ “Perdido,” among others. Who should win this week? Give these new releases a spin and vote for your favorite new Latin music release below.