State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
Page: 89
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Trending on Billboard
Ready to dive into the drama that is BravoCon 2025?
The Bravo-led convention is back and juicier than ever, spearheaded by none other than Andy Cohen. The convention will be taking place at the Bravo Clubhouse in Las Vegas. Fans will be able to experience a special edition of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, aptly titled BravoCon Live with Andy Cohen. Some of Bravo’s favorite series regulars will be attending the con including Angie Katsanevas from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Ariana Madix of Vanderpump Rules fame, Ashley Darby from The Real Housewives of Potomac and Denise Richards from the film Wild Things and the show Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, among others.
BravoCon LIVE will feature special episodes airing from Nov. 14 through the 16th slated to include all the hot gossip, jaw-dropping reveals, and maybe even some beef squashing that fans of Bravo have been craving. The shows will tape across four nights from PH Live at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
BravoCon began back in 2019 in New York and served as a way for fans of Bravo franchises to meet and greet with their favorites. At the time, it was the only convention really celebrating and platforming all things reality TV. If you didn’t snag tickets to the convention, we’re going to show you how you can tune into the fun from the comfort of your couch.
How to Watch BravoCon with DIRECTV.
BravoCon LIVE with Andy Cohen will be available to watch via Bravo which can be accessed on DIRECTV on channel 237.
A subscription to DIRECTV gets you access to live TV, local networks such as NBC, ABC and PBS, and you can also watch many cable networks, including FS1, Lifetime, FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, BET, MTV, Paramount Network, Cartoon Network, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, CNBC and many others (Some local channels not available in select markets.). With DIRECTV, you’ll have access to a slew of Bravo titles, giving you the drama fix you’ll need to keep going. This includes Below Deck, Vanderpump Rules, Summer House and all The Real Housewives franchises you can think of.
DIRECTV offers a handful of streaming plans for all budgets as well as a trial so you can watch for free for five days. The most affordable option of the bunch is the ENTERTAINMENT package featuring over 90 channels for $49.99/mo. for the first month and $79.99 for months two and three, then $89.99 for months 4-241. This plan includes local channels (where available), ESPN Unlimited, unlimited streams for unlimited screens2 and a special offer on premium networks. Check out directv.com/affiliates/stream for details on the other packages, channel line ups and special offers.
Trending on Billboard
It’s time, earlier than ever before, for Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” to return to the Billboard Hot 100.
As previously reported, the carol jingles back onto the Hot 100 dated Nov. 15 at No. 31.
Notably, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” appears on the Hot 100 for the first time via activity, in part, during Halloween, as the latest list reflects the tracking week beginning Oct. 31.
Still, the metrics for “All I Want for Christmas Is You” have remained fairly steady at the beginning of November in recent years. As counted toward the latest Hot 100, it drew 9.9 million official streams and 942,000 airplay audience impressions and sold 1,000 in the United States Oct. 31-Nov. 6, according to Luminate.
The song’s totals the year before in the corresponding chart week: 10.4 million streams, 1.7 million in airplay audience and 1,000 sold (Nov. 1-7, 2024). The year before that, it scored 10.8 million streams, 1.8 million in airplay audience and 1,000 sold (Nov. 3-9, 2023).
As with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” hitting a new streaming-era high in the Hot 100’s top 10 concurrent with the reentry of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” factors beyond the latter’s metrics appear to play into its sleigh ride back to the chart while pumpkins are still on doorsteps before Christmas ornaments have likely been brought down from the attic. In analyzing the chart vault for “Thriller,” Billboard’s Andrew Unterberger cited such factors as generally lower streaming counts year-over-year for current hits and the recent Hot 100 rule change to remove long-charting hits more rapidly, helping to make more room for holiday songs.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” originally released in 1994, hit the Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time in December 2017. In December 2019, it ascended to No. 1 at last. Having led in each holiday season since, Carey’s soloist-record 19th leader has ruled for 18 weeks to date, the third-longest command in the chart’s history. It’s also at the North Pole on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs recap.
Trending on Billboard
In October, Billboard gave Louis Tomlinson a new nickname: “King Lou,” inspired by his Beyoncé-reminiscent song title, “Lemonade.” Now, the former One Direction band member is living up to that royal moniker by sharing a track called “Palaces.”
Arriving Friday (Nov. 14), “Palaces” finds Tomlinson bringing the energy on a sweet song about wanting to block out the rest of the world and hide out forever with his love interest. His voice soaring over sunny guitar and pummeling drums, he sings, “I’m lost in the time, I don’t care for the world outside/ You can stay for the night in the palaces of my mind.”
On the day “Palaces” dropped, Tomlinson wrote on social media that it’s been “one of my favourite songs on the record since writing it.”
“Thank you for all the support so far,” he added in his post. “Too excited for next year!”
The star’s new song comes ahead of his upcoming album, How Did I Get Here?, which is set to drop Jan. 23. So far, “Palaces” and “Lemonade” are the only tracks he’s shared of the 12 on the LP, with the latter finding Tomlinson crooning about a lover who’s both “bitter” and “sweet.”
Tomlinson hasn’t released an album since 2022’s Faith in the Future, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. In addition to being his first full-length in three years, How Did I Get Here? will also mark the first album he’s dropped since losing his friend and former bandmate, Liam Payne, who died in 2024 after suffering a fall from the fourth-floor balcony of his hotel room in Argentina.
“There’s still a level in my head [where it feels] unjust and frustrating that he’s not with us anymore,” Tomlinson recently told Rolling Stone UK of Payne. “Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow. [That was] super-naive. It’s very different. I’ve never lost a friend before.”
Listen to Tomlinson’s new song, “Palaces,” below.
Trending on Billboard
Over her 20-plus-year career, Tracy Gardner has seen her fair share of technological disruptions in the music business. “I started right when illegal downloads took over,” she says of her entry into the industry as an intern at what was then Warner Bros. Records (now Warner Records).
As TikTok’s global head of music business development — a position she has held since February — Gardner is now running point for the biggest disruptor of the industry over the last five years. The Brooklyn Law graduate, whom ByteDance recruited in 2019 after six years in the legal affairs and business development departments at Warner Music Group, took over from Ole Obermann — whom she also worked with at WMG — when he departed for Apple Music.
Related
In her new role as the platform’s chief liaison with the music industry, Gardner oversees deals with labels, publishers and the TikTok commercial music library and works closely with the platform’s strategy, finance, artist services, product and ad sales teams.
Her promotion comes at a fitful moment for TikTok, as ByteDance and the Trump administration are reportedly finalizing a deal that would result in a consortium of U.S. investors acquiring a majority stake in the app. Gardner was not able to comment on that process or how it might affect her division. But in this interview — her first since assuming her current role — she asserts that nearly two years after Universal Music Group temporarily pulled its artists’ music from TikTok over a breakdown in licensing negotiations, and the social media platform shifted label licensing away from Merlin, which licenses digital companies on behalf of over 30,000 indie labels and distributors, “We’re in a great place with the music industry. It’s a dynamic partnership that, as TikTok evolves quickly, has an impact on how we’re looking at deals, how we work with partners and what they want to get from a partnership with us.”
At Warner, you were on the other side of the negotiating table with ByteDance. How did that experience affect how you conduct your job now?
Mainly, it was great to come from the perspective of being at a label and a rights holder. [TikTok] was still relatively new when I got there, and we had to build the infrastructure and collaborate with other teams at ByteDance. A lot of our music team came over from either other DSPs [digital service providers] or labels, so there was a very good base to help the product teams, who don’t have music experience, understand what these rights holders expect from tech partners and what their artists are looking for.
What did you learn from watching Ole Obermann?
Ole and I worked together at Warner. Often people in business development [at music companies] come from one of two paths: f inancial or legal backgrounds. I was fortunate that Ole came from a more numbers- based, financial background, whereas mine was legal. He forced me out of my comfort zone. I wanted to look at the term sheet, and he told me, “You have to focus on the numbers. The numbers don’t lie.” Then we both moved to TikTok, and he [built] a great infrastructure of how the team operates, how we present budgets and how we work with senior management.
Related
How have you tailored your current role to your perspective and experience?
Ole was overseeing both recorded music and publishing, while I was more in day-to-day operations on the recorded-music side working with artists. So when I took on this new job, I said, “Why don’t we apply the best practices we have for artists to songwriters?” One thing that we’re particularly proud of is the songwriter feature we launched earlier this year [enabling songwriters to tag songs they’ve written in the music tab of their account]. The songwriters are really enjoying being able to step out from behind the curtain and get the acknowledgment that they deserve. We plan to roll that out more broadly.
TikTok increasingly has prioritized e-commerce with the TikTok Shop. How is your team working with artists there?
We are working with the e-commerce teams at the labels as well as our own. One thing we’re seeing is old vinyl sells. Even though people don’t have record players, they view these albums as collectibles. We also see great success when an artist does a livestream. We did one with Lizzo that was quite successful and one with the Jonas Brothers.
TikTok has hosted a number of intimate pop-up events recently for artists’ top fans. Ones with Miley Cyrus and Ed Sheeran come to mind immediately. This is an interesting move to me because you are a social media platform. You want to engage fans online. Why did you want to take people off their phones and get them outside with artists?
Music discovery starts on TikTok — discovery, promotion and fandom grows here, and we view it as a flywheel. After discovering a song, we then help to promote it with some of the campaigns that we do, then we tie that to the “Add to Music App” function so that you can listen on your streaming service. We’re see that what we do moves the needle on streaming, which then leads to charts, which then leads to increased fandom.
We thought that there would be a great opportunity to bring this to real life, to invite the fans that have the greatest engagement with an artist on TikTok to come see the artist in person, even if it does mean going off the platform for a bit. What I thought was beautiful about the Miley event at Chateau Marmont, was that the people there were so impassioned that they started posting so much about it. Even though I wasn’t there, they made me feel like I’d actually experienced it. Right now, we’re finding a way to create joyful intimate moments and creating them in a way that encourages fans to film and to bring them back onto TikTok.
Related
After a song goes viral on TikTok, it often ends up doing really well on streaming services. For a while, TikTok was building its own streaming service, TikTok Music. Why was it shut down last year?
It was just a decision of priorities. We were trying to grow it for quite some time, and the decision was made: “You know what? Out of all the things we’re doing, this is not succeeding at the level we want. Let’s focus on other areas.” It was an awesome service and it really tied in all the great parts of TikTok, but it was just a decision by management.
TikTok recently let go about 15 people from the U.S. and Latin American music teams, and layoffs are forthcoming in the United Kingdom. Some are interpreting this as a sign that the company is backing away from its partnerships with the music business.
As so many other big companies have recently done — Amazon announced a big round of layoffs, for instance — organizational changes are due to changes in structural needs. Companies can grow very quickly and then must reassess what’s best for them. There is definitely no change in the priority around artist services and artist relations. For us, it’s business as usual.
How are you reassuring the music industry that you remain committed to the partnerships and plans you already made?
We’re telling them it’s business as usual, and our valued industry partners remain the highest priority. We just want to focus more on the core priorities for artists and songwriters to help drive the value on the platform.
How is TikTok ensuring artists have safeguards against artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes?
We ask that users tag anything that’s AI-created. Aside from that, I don’t think the industry has a quick solution right now to identify those and take them down. If someone notifies us, our trust and safety team will take them down if needed. But it is a very interesting time right now.
Related
AI-generated songs have appeared on the TikTok and Billboard charts. Are you pursuing any policies that would bar AI music on your platform and charts?
It’s uncharted territory. Even with U.S. Copyright Office guidance that works must have sufficient human contribution to be protected, what does that mean? There’s such a wide span from a song being totally created by AI to one that’s created by a human with just one or two AI contributions. How do we decide when it’s such a gray zone? So I don’t think we’ve made a decision on that yet, and I don’t think a lot of the DSPs have either.
If AI-generated music starts performing well on TikTok, could it diminish the leverage rights holders have in negotiations with you?
I don’t think it would have any impact. We’re all aware that AI music is out there, and some exceptions have risen on the charts, but it would not at all impact the value that we see in our partners and how our deals with them are structured.
What are some best practices for artists seeking to gain an audience on TikTok?
The beauty of it is that any song has a chance to go viral. It just depends on how the billions of people on the platform react to the song. Oftentimes, I’m asked, “Do you have to be really leaned in?” It depends. A great example is Connie Francis. Her song “Pretty Little Baby” blew up this year. She wasn’t on the platform at the time. Eventually she did get on, which was great, but this music resonated [on its own].
Trending on Billboard Before the 59th annual CMA Awards take place Nov. 19, ABC will pay tribute to some of country music’s leading names with Center Stage: Countdown to the CMA Awards — Special Edition of 20/20, which will air Nov. 18 evening. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Hosted by former CMA Awards […]
Apple / Digital ID
Apple is always looking for ways to make life easier through your iPhone, of course. The company’s latest idea, Digital IDs, isn’t going over as well as Apple hoped.
Apple has officially rolled out a Digital IDs feature that will allow users to create and add an ID to their Apple Wallet using their US passport.
The tech giant says the Digital ID acceptance will “roll out first” at TSA checkpoints for domestic travel in over 250 airports.
Apple says Digital ID can serve as an alternative for travelers who have yet to upgrade to a Real ID, and you can present it at TSA checkpoints using your iPhone or Apple Watch.
However, you’ll still need to hold on to your passport for international travel, as a Digital ID cannot be used for traveling abroad or for border crossings.
Apple Has Already Pushed The Idea of Putting Your ID on Your Smartphone
The Digital ID isn’t the first time Apple has toyed around with the IDs. Apple is already allowing users in 12 states, including Puerto Rico, to store their driver’s licenses/IDs, but Digital ID gives those outside those states an alternative to Real ID.
Social Media Is Skeptical
The announcement of the Digital ID isn’t going over well with everyone, sparking major privacy concerns, especially among those who already feel “big brother” is watching them through their phones.
“Well, Apple just rolled out “Digital ID.” The surrender of privacy is about to hit warp speed. This is step one of your digital leash, gift-wrapped as convenience. Once it’s “normalized,” it’s irreversible. Then it’s “optional.” Until it’s not,” one post on X, formerly Twitter, read.
Others are stressing that this is even more reason for you not to hand over your smartphones to law enforcement.
Well, it’s entirely up to you whether you want to participate in this feature. We can recall a time when it was frowned upon to put your credit cards in your phone, but now tap-to-pay is one of the most widely used features on smartphones and smartwatches.
It’s entirely plausible that Digital IDs will become popular over time.
Until then, you can see more reactions below.
Trending on Billboard
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but none of the artists who performed at Ozzy Osbourne‘s all-star final Back to the Beginning gig this summer were paid to be there. They did it for the love of the game, and their love of the late metal icon.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Wife/manager Sharon Osbourne revealed the generosity of Ozzy’s peers in this week’s episode of The Osbournes podcast, the family’s first sit-down chat since Ozzy’s death on July 22 at 76 years old, just weeks after the historic gig. “We paid the cost of bringing everybody in, everybody out, accommodation, everything,” said Sharon about the all-day July 5 gig at Villa Park in Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham, England that featured sets from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains Anthrax as well solo and Black Sabbath sets featuring Ozzy. “[And] no one got paid. Nobody asked for a penny. They gave their time, their efforts, everything for free. People were just, oh God, so generous.”
Sharon also clarified reports about how much the show raised for charity based on what the family said were erroneously inflated figures provided by the show’s musical director, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, in an Instagram post in which he claimed it would donate around $190 million to charities including the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospital and Cure Parkinson’s.
Son Jack said there was an “awful lot of bulls–t that went out” about how much the concert raised for charity. Veteran manager Sharon added, “If one show could have raised… I mean, it was up to, like $190 million. It’s, like, any artist, just do one big show, film it and you can retire just on one show. No, it was nowhere near, and I wish that it was, but we are living in reality, in the real world.”
Sharon revealed that the show raised around $11 million for charity given the enormous cost of flying everyone in and out, putting them up and mounting the ambitious show that will be the subject of the upcoming 100-minute concert film Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow, which is slated for theatrical release early next year.
Watch the Osbournes discuss the generosity of the Back to the Beginning participants below.
Source: Elsa / Getty
Cardi B and Stefon Diggs have just welcomed their baby boy to the world.
News broke last night (Nov.13) during a Monday night game featuring Diggs and his new team, the New England Patriots. The NFL star had a great performance, and his team got the dub over the New York Jets.
The NY rapper, in a lengthy post, announced she recently delivered her baby, “My life has always been a combination of different chapters and different seasons. My last chapter was the beginning of a new season. Starting over is never easy, but it’s been so worth it! I brought new music and a new album to the world! A new baby into my world, and one more reason to be the best version of me, one more reason to love me more than anything else or anyone else, so I can continue giving my babies the love and life they deserve.”
Cardi also wasted no time showing off that her waist is still snatched. This is her fourth child and her first with her boo Stefon Diggs. The Bodak Yellow rapper also makes it clear that she’s only in competition with herself, saying, “This next chapter is Me vs. Me! It’s me against all odds, me against everything meant to get in my way. I’ve started prepping for tour, getting my body right, getting my mind right. There’s nothing that’s gonna stop me from giving you guys the performance of a lifetime!”
Fans are rooting for the Bronx queen, knowing she always backs her word with results.
Independent music company EMPIRE has announced a wave of key leadership moves across its publishing, commerce and Nashville divisions as the company celebrates its 15th anniversary.
Vinny Kumar has been promoted to president of EMPIRE Publishing, where he’ll continue overseeing global deals and strategy. Under Kumar’s leadership, EMPIRE Publishing has become a leading independent publisher, representing Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated songwriters and earning recognition across ASCAP, BMI, and NMPA awards. The division debuted in Billboard’s Hot 100 Publisher Rankings Top 10 in 2024.
“We met nearly two decades ago and he’s been part of the foundation of what this company stands for,” EMPIRE founder and CEO Ghazi said of Kumar. “He will continue to lead with integrity and creativity, and his passion for music and strategic vision have helped elevate every facet of our publishing business.”
Vinny Kumar
EMPIRE Africa also launched its publishing arm under managing director Munyaradzi Chanetsa, with notable successes from writers behind Davido’s Grammy-nominated “Unavailable” and multiple Southern African hits.
Meanwhile, Matthew Maysonet has been elevated to senior vice president of commerce and streaming partnerships, leading a global team of nearly 20. Andrea Galicia moves up to senior director, while Goldie Harrison (formerly of UnitedMasters) and Daisy Moreira (a Def Jam veteran) join as directors in the division. The team will drive monetization and streaming strategies for EMPIRE’s diverse roster, including Latin and global acts.
Galicia, Harrison and Moreira
In Music City, EMPIRE Nashville added Bri Small as vice president of digital and Zak Waters as director of A&R. Small (ex-Warner Music Nashville) will lead digital engagement for Nashville artists, while songwriter and producer Waters will focus on talent discovery and creative development. Both hires underscore EMPIRE’s commitment to an artist-first, genre-fluid approach in one of the industry’s most competitive markets.
EMPIRE Nashville leader Jen Way praised Small for bringing “such a special energy and creativity to everything she does,” calling her the ideal person to guide the label’s digital strategy. She described Waters as a versatile creative with strong storytelling instincts who will “represent exactly where EMPIRE Nashville is headed—artist-first, genre-fluid, and creatively fearless.”
Bri Small (Credit: David Bradley) and Zak Waters (Credit: Zak Cassar)
Check out a full rundown of this week’s staffing news below.
Dee Hale (Sony Music Publishing)
Image Credit: Amy Allmand Photography
Trending on Billboard
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
This week: It’s Over and out for Summer Walker with the third and final album in her signature series, Kelsea Ballerini is taking stock of things with a new EP and Miley Cyrus rises from the ashes with a big soundtrack single.
Summer Walker, Finally Over It
It’s been a four-year wait — but Finally Over It is, well, finally here. The third and presumed final entry in R&B star Summer Walker’s Over It series, the follow-up to 2021’s Still Over It features 18 tracks spread over two discs, and follows a wedding theme — with the two discs titled “For Better” and “For Worse,” and the album art and visuals seeing Walker marrying an elderly white man, implying a hard exit from the world of dating and unsatisfying romantic relationships. The star-studded album features guests ranging from old collaborators Chris Brown, Bryson Tiller and 21 Savage to new friends Sailorr, Brent Faiyaz and Doja Cat, but Walker is arguably still best keeping it simple and solo, as on the unequivocal “No” and the wrenching “Situationship.”
Kelsea Ballerini, Mount Pleasant
Two years after her well-received Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP — and one year after the full-length Patterns — country star Kelsea Ballerini is back playing the mini-album game with the six-track Mount Pleasant. The abbreviated release is meant “to capture a moment in time,” says Ballerini in a statement, with “six songs I’ve written throughout the summer, marking a chapter of heavy self-examination, longing and stepping further into who I am as a 32-year old woman.” The EP moves quickly but hits hard, with songs of jealousy, heartbreak and frustration written with Ballerini’s typically vivid detail and delivered with her usual bite and tenderness.
Miley Cyrus, “Dream as One”
Miley Cyrus has expressed a particular connection to the themes of the upcoming Avatar sequel Fire and Ash, after losing her Malibu home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire: “Having been personally affected by fire and being rebuilt from the ashes, this project holds profound meaning for me,” Cyrus shared on Instagram, thanking director James Cameron “for the opportunity to turn that experience into musical medicine.” She does so this week with the new ballad “Dream as One,” a stately anthem of love and endurance that refuses to ascribe the concept of “home” to any particular building or place, as Cyrus sings to her partner: “You are my home/ No matter where I go.”
Lewis Capaldi, Survive EP
It’s been a big moment for U.K. pop in the past couple months, with the global breakout of Olivia Dean, a big new RAYE. hit and the return earlier this week of Charli XCX, with two new songs from her upcoming soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation. Into this moment steps Lewis Capaldi, the formerly Billboard Hot 100-topping singer-songwriter and supreme balladeer — who took the better part of the last two years on a break from touring and recording, for the betterment of his mental health — with his four-track Survive EP. There’s no major swerves with the new release — “It’s…… songs,” was Capaldi’s helpful description of the EP on The Graham Norton Show — but it is rousing with its pervasive sense of perseverance, even through heartbreak on the climactic lighter-waver “Almost.”
Jessie Murph, Sex Hysteria (Deluxe)
July’s Sex Hysteria album marked something of a commercial breakthrough for Jessie Murph, making the top 10 of the Billboard 200 — helped by the success of breakout single “Blue Strips.” This week, the retro-minded 15-track set gets an eight-track bonus disc on the set’s official deluxe edition. The new tracks include the gently soulful and rueful “I Stay I Leave I Love I Lose,” the Amy Winehouse-like, hungover and heartbroken “Easy Sunday Living” and the previously released kiss-off “I’m Not There for You” — already another Hot 100 hit for Murph — and should get fans who’ve finally calmed down from the original Hysteria all good and bothered again.
Dominic Fike, “White Keys”
The always-buzzy Dominic Fike has a big weekend coming up, making his debut as one half of Geezer (alongside Kevin Abstract) at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival. In advance of the performance, Fike today shares “White Keys,” a new-old song that was a formerly unofficially released fan favorite, produced by John Cunningham. “I had forgot about this song and the internet somehow dug it up for me,” Fike commented on the playfully shuffling, lightly forlorn mini-banger in an IG post announcing its release. Abstract showed up in that post’s comments to proclaim: “gay boy returns.”
