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Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
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This week: Each of Taylor Swift’s Reputation tracks are up following her announcement of having acquired the masters to her Big Machine-era albums — but which are up the most? Plus, a Kellyoke outing helps a Texas singer-songwriter get a break, and TikTok pettiness helps mint another fun new country hit.
Taylor Swift’s Surging ‘Reputation’: Which Songs Are Getting Streamed the Most?
Following Taylor Swift’s announcement on Friday (May 30) that she had bought back the master recordings of her first six albums, the superstar’s entire catalog posted sales and streaming gains, as Swifties rushed to celebrate the hard-fought victory. In addition to her five most recent studio albums and four Taylor’s Version re-records receiving boosts, her first six full-lengths naturally saw spikes in listenership — particularly Reputation, her 2017 opus which had not yet been given a Taylor’s Version treatment (and possibly never will).
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Reputation has experienced the biggest gain in consumption since Friday’s announcement, averaging 8,000 equivalent album units between Friday and Saturday, according to Luminate, and challenging for a return to the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 next week. Digging into the individual songs, every single track on the album earned a increase in daily U.S. on-demand audio streams of at least 70 percent in the four days after the announcement (May 30-June 2) compared to the same tracking period during the previous week (May 23-26), with “So It Goes…” getting the biggest percentage bounce by rising to 983,000 streams in those four days, up a whopping 262% from the previous week.
The biggest hits on Reputation earned big boosts as well: lead single and Hot 100 chart-topper “Look What You Made Me Do” rose 70% to 2 million streams between May 30-June 2, while “Delicate” was up 85% to 2.02 million streams over those four days. The most-streamed song on Reputation, however, was the opener, “…Ready For It?,” which earned 2.21 million streams over that four-day period (up 80%). When Swifties wanted to finally return to Reputation, they clearly wanted to start at the top and savor the whole thing. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Elizabeth Nichols Has ‘Got a New’ Hit Following ‘Kellyoke’ Cover
While pop star-turned-TV host Kelly Clarkson has made the ‘Kellyoke’ covers segment on her eponymous talk show a pop institution largely taking on a combination of established classics and contemporary hits, occasionally she likes to look to the future a little. That’s what she did last week, when she took on Texas country singer-songwriter Elizabeth Nichols’ late-2024 single “I Got a New One,” a clever sung-spoken ditty that sees her responding to childish romantic ultimatums by calling “next” on her partners. “I love [that song] so much, it’s so funny,” raved Fort Worth native Clarkson after her performance. “I always love shining a light on a fellow Texan.”
And indeed, the spotlight has been on Nichols and her winning debut single in the days since. In the four days following Clarkson’s performance, “I Got a New One” racked up 549,000 official on-demand U.S. streams in total, according to Luminate – a 462% gain on the four-day period prior to the cover. Even more impressively, the song shot to the top tier of the iTunes chart on the back of nearly 3,200 in sales over that same period, up over 63,000% from a negligible amount the prior period.
Given the way the country world deemed Ella Langley a star following her breakout success with her similarly sung-spoken Riley Green duet “You Look Like You Love Me” just last year, it might not be long before Nashville decides it’s got a new one in Elizabeth Nichols. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Vengefulness Propels Blackly Comedic Kaitlin Butts Single to Viral Success
“F*cking finally!” proclaimed the country newsletter Don’t Rock the Inbox about the long-overdue viral success of Oklahoma singer-songwriter Kaitlin Butts and her song “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me).” Indeed, the darkly funny highlight from Butts’ acclaimed 2024 album Roadrunner has belatedly hit TikTok paydirt, thanks to a couple sounds from it – including the chorus chant, and the spoken-word pre-chorus breakdown (“You know, I think I have heard of that man… I think I heard he got run over by a train, mauled by a bear, maybe? Hopefully”) – catching on with users sharing the reasons they’ve prematurely called a TOD on an ex.
Butts herself has helped accelerate the moment on her own TikTok, sharing some of the more unseemly examples and dueting along with high-profile cosigners like Internet celebrity Brianna Chickenfry and – once again – country star Ella Langley. Consequently, the song has begun to cross over to DSPs, racking up 473,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending May 29, according to Luminate – a 3,342% gain from two weeks earlier, when the song netted just under 14,000 streams. As the song continues to rise, it just proves that the combination of a good, funny country song and the power of online vindictiveness is never to be underestimated. – AU
Jamie Foxx is not pulling punches when it comes to his thoughts on the Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ New York sex trafficking and racketeering trial. During a recent appearance at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, the actor/singer lashed out at the disgraced former music mogul who he once honored at Diddy’s 2008 Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony.
“Diddy is fu–in’ crazy, huh?” Foxx said in footage shared by Urban Hollywood. “I don’t know if he is going to jail, but he is a nasty motherf–er. Am I right? Especially for us… white people like, ‘It’s cool,’ but for Black people… that was our hero. All that g–damn baby oil, boy! Why you so nasty, Diddy?” When officers raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami last March prosecutors said they found drugs as well as more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant and baby oil.
The comments from Foxx about the shocking testimony in the Combs trial in reference to the rapper’s marathon “Freak Off” sex parties is relevant because in 2023 rumors circulated that Combs allegedly poisoned Foxx, leading to the actor’s hospitalization for what was later confirmed to be a stroke.
Foxx opened up about the rumors surrounding his mystery illness last month in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, shooting down the allegations that Diddy tried to have him killed via poisoning. “I’m in f—ing perfect shape. [I saw things like,] ‘Puffy tried to kill me.’ No, Puffy didn’t try to kill me. When they said I was a clone, that made me flip,” Foxx said. “I’m sitting in the hospital bed, like, ‘These b—h-a– motherf—ers are trying to clone me.’”
While a spokesperson for Combs did not reply to Billboard‘s request for a comment on the allegations, his team has repeatedly said the rumor was false and unfounded.
Foxx also addressed the allegations in his What Had Happened Was… Netflix special in December, in which he said, “The internet said Puffy was trying to kill me, that’s what the internet was saying. I know what you thinking, ‘Diddy?’ Hell no, I left them parties early. I was out by 9. ‘Something don’t look right… it looks slippery in here!” The Combs trial is in its fourth week and on Wednesday (June 4) Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Diddy’s ex, prosecution star witness Cassie Ventura, alleged that Diddy dangled her over a 17th-floor apartment balcony in 2016 before shoving her into the balcony’s furniture.
Combs is facing five criminal counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution, charges that could land him in prison for the rest of his life; Combs has denied the allegations against him.
In recent weeks, The All-American Rejects have been going viral for performances at small house parties. And now, frontman Tyson Ritter is taking his talents to an even more intimate space: OnlyFans.
As revealed Wednesday (June 4) through an interview with GQ, the rock singer has decided to set up an account on the creator-focused online subscription platform, which has become known for its NSFW content. According to Ritter, he’s more focused on using the website to build a closer, more direct relationship with fans — but they might be able to expect a little bit of the risqué on top of it.
“I don’t think anybody would have expected the All-American Rejects to make a ripple in the water ever again,” began Ritter of his band, which dominated the pop-rock landscape in the 2000s before fading from the mainstream in the 2010s. “So the excitement behind this whole thing is like, ‘Where else can we be disruptive?’”
“We’ve always been a band who’s got a tongue bursting through the cheek when it comes to our music,” he continued. “So why not, you know, do a little peen bursting through a zipper?”
The musician remained vague about what his subscribers are in for, divulging only that they “can expect full-frontal rock n’ roll with all access.” Adding that he doesn’t plan on making fans pay very much to access his content — “If anything, maybe you’ll pay 69 cents, just because we’re little cheeky cats,” he quipped — Ritter said that bandmates Nick Wheeler, Mike Kennerty and Chris Gaylor are totally supportive of his new venture.
At press time, Ritter’s OnlyFans account did not appear to have launched yet.
The band’s latest “disruptive” move comes as the All-American Rejects have been experiencing a renaissance online thanks to their string of viral house-party performances. According to Ritter, the streak (of smaller shows, not the other kind) began about a month prior to the interview, when the band somewhat spontaneously accepted an offer to perform at a college rager near the University of Southern California. One of their recent performances at a house party near the University of Missouri was shut down by police — but not before the responding officers stopped to listen to a few more songs, per CNN.
Ritter is far from the only star to have joined OnlyFans, with several other musicians having turned to the platform as an additional source of income — or as a way of engaging more personally with listeners — over the years. Cardi B, Rico Nasty and The-Dream have all created accounts on the platform, while Lily Allen joined the platform last year to sell pictures of her feet.
“I think most people don’t realize that OnlyFans was a product of the pandemic that started as a Patreon for artists,” Ritter added to GQ of the site. “And then it was infiltrated by a genre that made it become a bit of a trope. It’s a platform that is offering an experience where the artist can set the price, and it’s artists-to-fans. There’s no middleman.”
One of Cassie Ventura’s friends testified Wednesday that Sean “Diddy” Combs dangled her over a 17th-floor balcony, telling jurors that the incident left her with “night terrors and paranoia.”
On the witness stand during the fourth week of the music mogul’s sex-trafficking trial, Bryana Bongolan said she had been at Ventura’s apartment in 2016 when Combs stormed in unexpectedly, according to CNN. She told the jurors that the star dangled her over a balcony, then threw her into furniture.
The attack left her with injuries both physical and psychological, Bongolan said: “I have night terrors and paranoia and scream in my sleep at times.”
Bongolan is one of many witnesses already called by prosecutors, who claim Combs ran a criminal enterprise aimed at coercing Ventura and other women into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.” Defense attorneys have said the sex was consensual and that Combs merely operated a legitimate music business.
The alleged balcony incident has long been one of the flashiest accusations against Diddy. It was referenced in Ventura’s civil lawsuit that sparked the rapper’s downfall, and prosecutors mentioned it in the indictment and in other pre-trial court filings. Bongolan herself described it in detail in a civil lawsuit she filed last year.
On the witness stand Wednesday, she described it for jurors, saying it had left her with “a bruise on the back of my leg and back and neck pain.”
Bongolan also testified that she once saw Diddy throw a knife at Ventura, and about another time that she saw Cassie with a black eye. She also told jurors about an alleged incident at a photoshoot in which Combs threatened her life.
“He came up really close to my face and said something around the lines of, ‘I’m the devil and I could kill you,’” Bongolan said.
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events in which Combs and others allegedly coerced Ventura and other victims into having sex with escorts while he watched and masturbated. Prosecutors also say the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control. (Read Billboard‘s full explainer of the case against Diddy here.)
Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential sentence of life in prison.
The trial, which has already featured testimony from Ventura herself, another unnamed victim named Mia and numerous other witnesses, is expected to run until early July. Bongolan is expected to continue testifying in the afternoon.
Sinners director Ryan Coogler and composer Ludwig Göransson didn’t just read up on Mississippi Delta blues while making the music for the 2025 blockbuster film Sinners; they went to experience it for themselves. In an exclusive clip shared with Billboard on Wednesday (June 4), Coogler said he traveled to Mississippi for the first time while […]
Elon Musk‘s alignment with President Donald Trump‘s administration is coming under scrutiny after the world’s richest man criticized a massive bill that could add trillions to the United States’ debt. Via his X social media platform, Elon Musk blasted Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by labeling it a “disgusting abomination.”
On Tuesday (June 3), Elon Musk took to X and aimed his critique at the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” becoming the first Trump ally to decry the bill and its well-documented flaws publicly.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk began. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
What was curious about the South African businessman’s missive was that it was completely backed by the Republican Party members of the House, which is public knowledge. Some have pondered why Musk didn’t aim his vitriol towards those elected officials instead of painting his disdain for the budget bill with a wide brush.
Via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the White House’s response to Musk’s jabs was succinct, and that Trump is all in on getting the bill through the Senate.
“This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it,” Leavitt said, responding to a reporter in the press room who asked if the president would be upset by Musk’s comments.
Musk has the support of some Republican Party officials such as Sen. Rand Paul, who wrote on X, “I want to see the tax cuts made permanent, but I also want to see the $5 trillion in new debt removed from the bill. At least 4 of us in the Senate feel this way,” which was retweeted by the Tesla founder. He also shared other supporting statements from others who feel similarly to him about the bill.
This isn’t the first time Musk, who reportedly exited DOGE and the White House last week, has railed against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, doing so in a CBS News interview last month.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said in May.
On X, the reactions to Elon Musk seemingly breaking with the Trump administration and Republican Party members of Congress were plentiful. We’ve got some listed below.
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The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated June 14, we look at a handful of albums likely to impact the top tier of the chart – a couple brand new, and a couple recently revitalized, led by a likely rebound from the biggest pop star in the world.
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Taylor Swift, Reputation (Big Machine): On a day of big new releases, last Friday (May 30) was still dominated by the news that Taylor Swift had officially acquired her own masters. Billboard reported from sources that she paid around $360 million for the acquisition from private equity firm Shamrock Capital, which had acquired the catalog in late 2020 from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, after Braun had bought Swift’s old label Big Machine the year before. Braun’s initial purchase, and Swift’s negative reaction to her professional adversary having such a big stake in her history, had of course inspired the entire Taylor’s Version project — which led to Swift re-recording four of her first six albums over the course of 2021-2023, along with a number of period-appropriate rarities. That endeavor not only proved wildly successful for Swift, but played a major part in her 2020s ascension to a level of solo superstardom not seen before this century.
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One of the two Big Machine-era albums she had yet to get to with her Taylor’s Version series was Reputation, the divisive 2017 album that followed both her ultimate pop breakthrough with 2014’s 1989 and the backlash that ensued, particularly after her back-and-forth feuding with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Along with the announcement of the acquisition of her masters, Swift also revealed that Reputation (Taylor’s Version) had been the most challenging of the series for her to put together, as she found it difficult to get back into the headspace of that album era — and thus had not even finished re-recording a quarter of it. Fans could infer from her letter that now that Swift’s back catalog was once again her own, she would be unlikely to finish re-recording the rest of it anytime soon.
But while some fans may have been disappointed that they would not get the full Reputation (Taylor’s Version) package anytime soon — which was so long-anticipated that the original album got a consumption bump a couple weeks ago merely based on rumors that she might reveal something about it on the AMAs — most were ready to revisit the original album anyway. With no re-recording imminent, and Swift once again the owner of her back catalog, fans flocked to the original Reputation, resulting in it leaping to the top of the iTunes albums chart, and launching five of its tracks back onto the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart for Saturday (May 31).
The major bump in sales and streams, for an album that was still ranking at No. 78 on the Billboard 200 in its 349th week on the chart, could see the album make a major rebound next week. It’s unlikely to supplant Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem — but no album is, as Problem posted 286,000 units this week (according to Luminate) in its second week atop the chart, and is likely to still be comfortably in the six figures in its third week, thanks to the 37-track set’s gargantuan streaming numbers. But it could get as high as the top five, maybe even to the runner-up spot, if fan enthusiasm maintains the further we get away from Swift’s Friday announcement. (Swift could also perhaps give sales a boost if she made the album available for sale on her webstore — as of publishing, it was still not listed there.)
Miley Cyrus, Something Beautiful (Columbia): Perhaps Swift’s main competition for the biggest chart-crasher this week is her old Hannah Montana: The Movie co-star Miley Cyrus. The veteran pop superstar returned on Friday with her new LP Something Beautiful, the audio part of a visual album project whose film accompaniment is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this Friday (June 6).
Something Beautiful follows 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation, and its galactically successful lead single “Flowers,” which became the biggest chart hit of Cyrus’ career and won her her first two Grammys. So far, none of the advance releases from Something Beautiful appear to be on anywhere near a “Flowers” trajectory, however — the only one of them to even reach the Billboard Hot 100 so far was official lead single “End of the World,” which debuted at No. 52 and fell off the chart after just four weeks.
While Something Beautiful is unlikely to be an immediate streaming blockbuster — as of midweek, none of its tracks appear on either the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA or the Apple Music real-time charts — it should sell relatively well. To help with that, the album is available in six different vinyl variants (including an artist webstore-exclusive signed version), as well as standard and signed CDs and two deluxe branded boxed sets with the CD and branded merch. At the very least, the set should extend Miley’s streak of top five albums on the Billboard 200 — which encompasses every one of her official studio releases dating back to 2007’s Meet Miley Cyrus, excepting 2015’s Miley Cyrus & Dead Petz, which was not initially given a commercial release.
SEVENTEEN, SEVENTEEN 5th Album ‘Happy Burstday’ (Pledis/YG Plus): Also aiming for the top five next week is an act with less stateside household-name recognition as Swift and Cyrus, but nearly as much of a presence on the albums chart. SEVENTEEN has reached the Billboard 200’s top 10 six times already in the 2020s, and even gotten as high as No. 2 with two 2023 releases, the EP FML and the mini-album Seventeenth Heaven.
The 13-member group is likely to return to the top 10 next week with its fifth full-length album, Happy Burstday — a 16-track effort that includes contributions from two of the biggest U.S. hitmakers of the early 21st-century in Pharrell and Timbaland. While SEVENTEEN has never been a major force on streaming in the U.S., the group are reliable high-sellers, and Burstday is available for purchase in a whopping 14 CD variants — all of which contain collectible branded paper ephemera, some of which is randomized. It should be enough for Burstday to be a real contender for the Billboard 200’s runner-up spot, along with the Swift and Cyrus sets.
Jimmy Buffett’s widow has filed a court petition asking to replace her co-trustee on the late singer-songwriter’s $275 million estate, saying a business manager tapped to handle the assets has been “openly hostile and adversarial” while ignoring her requests for financial transparency.
The petition was filed Tuesday (June 3) by the late singer’s wife of 46 years, Jane Buffett, who married Jimmy Buffett in 1977 and was made sole beneficiary of a marital trust holding the bulk of the hitmaker’s assets upon his death in September 2023 at the age of 76. The court filing says these assets, including real estate and a 20% stake in his successful island-themed hospitality company Margaritaville, are worth roughly $275 million.
Jimmy’s will named Rick Mozenter, an accountant at the business management firm Gelfand Rennert & Feldman, as co-trustee to help Jane administer the estate. But Tuesday’s petition says that rather than help Jane, Mozenter has actually made life more difficult following her husband’s death.
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“Mr. Mozenter has failed to perform even the most basic tasks required of him in his role as co-trustee, including providing Mrs. Buffett with information concerning trust assets and finances, which has left Mrs. Buffett in the dark with regard to the state of her own finances,” write Jane’s lawyers from the firm Sullivan & Cromwell. “Along the way, Mr. Mozenter has belittled, disrespected and condescended to Mrs. Buffett in response to her reasonable requests for information she undoubtedly was entitled to receive.”
According to the court filing, Jane met with Mozenter a month after Jimmy’s death in October 2023 and asked how much income she should expect to receive annually from the trust. Mozenter dragged his feet for 16 months, Jane’s lawyers say, repeatedly ignoring her requests to get an answer as she tried to make plans for her future.
Mozenter finally provided this estimate in February 2025, and the results were “shocking.” Mozenter told Jane she would see less than $2 million in annual income — an amount that would not cover Jane’s expenses and “a remarkably poor return for a trust with an estimated $275 million in assets,” the petition states.
Jane’s lawyers say this estimate was especially surprising because the trust had received more than $14 million in distributions from Margaritaville over the previous 18 months. This made Jane concerned that Mozenter was mismanaging the trust and she requested additional financial information from him, but the accountant once again stonewalled.
The court filing also claims Mozenter has been “unprofessional and combative” to Jane and that he refused her request to sell a piece of Bahamas real estate, even though the Buffett family rarely uses this property and its costs more than $300,000 a year to operate. Mozenter has billed more than $1.7 million in fees while engaging in this alleged wrongdoing, Jane’s attorneys claim.
“Faced with what clearly has become an unsolvable rift with Mr. Mozenter, and the prospect of having to continue to unsuccessfully request that he discharge his duties, on May 30, 2025, Mrs. Buffett asked that Mr. Mozenter resign as co-trustee,” says the petition. “Mr. Mozenter refused, insisting that he remain in a position of authority over her wealth. The situation is untenable and Mrs. Buffett requests this court’s assistance to resolve it.”
Jane’s lawyers are asking a judge to remove Mozenter from the trust and replace him with a new co-trustee. The petition suggests Daniel Neidich, the CEO of investment firm Dune Real Estate Partners, for the job.
Mozenter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition.
Xavi and Manuel Turizo unite for their first No. 1 together as “En Privado” advances from No. 3 to lead Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart (dated June 7). The song leads with 8.7 million audience impressions, up 27%, earned in the United States during the May 23-29 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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Xavi secures his second No. 1 on the overall Latin Airplay chart as “En Privado” climbs to the penthouse. The Mexican artist first conquered the chart in 2024, when his track “La Diabla” reached No. 1 in just its third week. Meanwhile, the collaboration also propels Turizo back to the summit for a ninth total time. He most recently led the list with “Copa Vacía,” with Shakira, in 2023.
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“En Privado,” released Feb. 5 on Interscope/ICLG, receives strong radio support by three Univision stations, led by KVVF-FM (San Jose), KQMR-FM (Phoenix) and KDXX-FM (Dallas).
Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “En Privado” also lands at No. 1 on Tropical Airplay, marking Xavi’s first chart-topper and Turizo’s fourth.
Meanwhile, Natti Natasha’s “Desde Hoy” spends a fourth nonconsecutive week at No. 2 on Latin Airplay (8.3 million in audience, up 11%). The last song to spend at least four weeks at No. 2, without ever going to No. 1, was in July 2017, when Shakira’s “Me Enamoré” spent its fifth and final nonconsecutive week at No. 2.
However, the most recent song to spend at least four weeks at No. 2 — only to later to go on to No. 1 — was Shakira’s “Soltera,” which spent seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2 before it climbed to No. 1, for one week, on the Jan. 4, 2025-dated chart.
Luis Figueroa Breaks into the Top 10 on Tropical Airplay
Elsewhere on Tropical Airplay, Luis Figueroa secures a spot in the top 10 with “Más Que Un Beso” as the song jumps 12-10 with 3 million audience impressions (up 22%).
As “Más Que Un Beso” ascends, Figueroa surpasses Marc Anthony to claim ownership of the third-most top 10s in the 2020s, with a total of 11. He trails only Prince Royce, who leads with 14 top 10s this decade, and Romeo Santos, who holds 12.
The song, the first single from Figueroa’s new album GRIS, also debuts at No. 47 on the Latin Airplay chart, where Figueroa earns his 10th career entry.
If you were a fan of Pavement in the 1990s then it probably won’t surprise you that when time came to make a biopic of the quintessential indie slacker rock band director Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell) took a hard turn away from the typical hagiographic, soft-focus treatment.
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In fact, unless you were a fan of the “Cut Your Hair” band back then, chances are Perry’s film, Pavements, will mostly just confuse you. Hell, even the band members aren’t totally sure how it all works. “We were informed via email things we needed to know, but for most of the process we didn’t know what was going on, because we didn’t have to,” multi-instrumentalist Bob Nastanovich tells Billboard about of the film in select theaters now and opening wide on Friday (June 6).
Addressing the project’s oddball format, which is part mockumentary, part documentary and includes footage from the fake Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical, as well as a movie-within-a-movie via the fake biopic Range Life: A Pavement Story, Nastanovich says, “if we wanted to have known more we would have. Our general attitude was: ‘lets see what happens.’”
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Stranger Things star Joe Keery takes on the role of singer Stephen Malkmus (but also plays himself), while the band’s members play themselves alongside a passel of young actors who also take on their personas. In a three-way call from Cincinnati — where bassist Mark Ibold was born and spent many of his summers — and Kentucky — where former Louisville native Nastanovich was visiting a friend — the two men describe their feelings about the film and get pumped about a gig throwing out the first pitch at a Cincinnati Reds game on Wednesday (June 4).
Nastanovich, 57, says he was thrilled to meet “delightful” actor Fred Hechinger, adding as far as he’s concerned the 25-year-old White Lotus star is “spitting image of me and an extremely good-looking young man.” That said, after Ibold, 62, ran into Escape Room star Logan Miller, 33, at the restaurant where the bassist works, he went to visit the New York set of the film to see what was up. Describing entering a room where various actors were playing Pavement, Ibold says he thought, “‘whoa, this is really tripped out,’” even though he couldn’t tell who was playing whom.
“[Director] Alex explained the concept to me and he interviewed us before he started to get an idea of what he wanted to do, but even when you see the film it can be somewhat confusing what is real and what isn’t… the concept is pretty wild and he presented it to the band in a way that he said would be very different from other rock documentaries,” says Ibold of the movie’s unusual take in the wake of more straight-ahead recent biopics of Queen’s Freddie Mercury, Elton John and Bob Dylan. He describes going to the Taipei Film Festival last year and having to explain what was going on to the perplexed audience during a post-screening Q&A after they seemed confused by the entertainingly disjointed nature of Perry’s approach.
While Ibold jokes that his takeaway was that “we’re all more handsome than we really are,” Nastanovich says that he honestly saw some things he didn’t know about before, including shots of Malkmus’ original lyric drafts and real memorabilia sent in by band archivist Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, which appear in the movie’s fake museum.
In addition to the film, the band recorded their first new song in 25 years, a cover of Jim Pepper’s 1969 track “Witchitai-To,” which is on the sprawling, 41-track Pavements soundtrack. The song came together during rehearsals for one of the band’s 2022 reunion shows and it’s the first fresh recording from the group since their 1999 Major Leagues EP.
Speaking of the major leagues, Ibold is excited to be back in Cincinnati, where he was born and spent many summers attending Reds baseball games with his family during the team’s late 1970s heyday. “My brother almost got hit by a car while getting Pete Rose’s autograph a block from where I am,” he says of the late, disgraced Cincinnati legend and all-time MLB hits leader who recently saw his lifetime ban end earlier this year when he was posthumously reinstated and made eligible for the Hall of Fame.
In fact, when he takes the mound on Wednesday at Great American Ballpark, Ibold says he plans to wear a jersey with Rose’s No. 14 on it when he tosses to catcher Nastanovich, for whom he made a custom “Nast” jersey honoring late Reds first baseman Dan Driessen’s No. 22, despite Nastanovich being a lifelong fan of longtime Red rivals the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“We’re extremely excited about it,” says Nastanovich, who says the team reached out to the baseball-loving band to see who would be interested in the honor, a query he and Ibold immediately raised their hands for. He says he’s seen video of Ibold practicing and predicted that his bandmate’s arc is so “sweet” that he might not even need a glove at all.
The gig also comes naturally to Ibold because his great great uncle started the iconic Ibold Cigars company in Cincinnati in the late 1800s. “When we came in from the airport to go to my grandparent’s house we’d see all these Ibold ads on warehouse walls and old brick buildings,” he says of the stogie maker that used to occupy a 13,000-square-foot, five-story building downtown, where it pumped out more than one million cigars a month in the 1940s.